


The Running Back

by LovelyMagickPegacorn



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-01-16 19:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 62,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1359472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyMagickPegacorn/pseuds/LovelyMagickPegacorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quinn Fabray is the popular cheerleader, and the thing with cheerleaders is that they only date jocks. That's a bit of a problem, but Rachel has the perfect solution. Join the football team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Please."

"No."

"Please."

"I said no."

Rachel pouted. Usually she would have gotten what she wanted by now but Noah was being very reluctant. She couldn't really understand why. What she was asking for wasn't very difficult. It wasn't as though she wanted him to get her on the team. Rachel just wanted an audition… er, that is to say a tryout. Yes, a tryout not an audition. Rachel had to remember that. She scrambled up to him and put on the saddest face that she could muster. That particular face, if Rachel said so herself, was pretty damn sad. "Pretty please," she pleaded.

She watched Noah groan and shift his gaze away. He ran a hand through his mohawk and rubbed the back of his neck. Rachel could hear him muttering curses under his breath. He glanced in her direction before quickly looking away once more. "Why do you even want to join?" he asked without looking at her.

"Because I want to be popular." Her practiced response came out quickly. Being as prepared as she was, Rachel had anticipated this question and had rehearsed in the mirror to find the best answer. That, combined with her superb acting skills, surely would have given a convincing performance. But as Rachel quickly learned, that was not the case. Noah was looking at her with a contemplative expression on his face. Normally Rachel would have been ecstatic as Noah hardly ever did any thinking with his head, but not this time. She wondered if maybe waiting a second or two before answering would have made any difference. Of course that was a moot point now.

"What's the real reason?"

"That is the real reason," Rachel insisted. She should have been able to fool him as she had enough talent to fool just about anyone, but her minor mistake had already convinced Noah that she was lying. He glanced at her before shaking his head in disappointment.

"If you don't want to tell me, fine." He spun on heel and began walking away. "I didn't want to piss off your dads' anyway. See ya!"

"Wait!" Rachel screamed as she chased after him. She slipped past him and extended her arms out to block his path. "Don't go, please don't go," she begged. "I'll tell you, okay. I'll tell you." Noah groaned as he dropped his head. He started to massage his forehead, as though he had a headache, and then made a gesture for her to elaborate. Rachel took a moment to think her words over but she realized that the direct approach was probably the best. "I want to try to impress Quinn Fabray." The moment the words left her lips Rachel closed her eyes tightly.

She waited for whatever reaction he would have, but she heard nothing. Rachel reopened her eyes and found that Noah was still processing what she had told him. After a moment he spoke. "Quinn Fabray?" Rachel nodded. "As in, the Quinn Fabray? As in Head Cheerleader, President of the Celibacy Club Quinn Fabray?" Rachel nodded once more. Noah resumed thinking. "Damn, that'd be hot." Rachel punched him on the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't be a pig Noah, I'm being serious."

"So am I," Noah pointed out. Rachel scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she dramatically spun on her heel. "What? I am being serious. The two of you would be hot together." And the thing was that Rachel knew that he wasn't lying. Of course Noah being Noah, he would instantly think that the idea of two girls together would be hot. But ignoring that Rachel would have to admit that she and Quinn would make quite the couple. She let her shoulders slacken and turned back to her friend.

"So are you going to help me or not?"

"If this is about you getting in Quinn Fabray's pants, then fuck yeah I am!" Rachel punched him again. "Ow!" He rubbed his arm shot Rachel a look. "You need to stop doing that. You should actually be thanking me."

"Sorry," she apologized. "And thank you." Noah seemed quite pleased with himself and Rachel was tempted to hit him once more. Instead she hugged him and let him have free choice over which movie the two of them would watch. Noah was very much the polar opposite of Rachel but they were the best of friends and he was always there for her when she needed him. He ended up picking an action movie that had little to no plot. Normally Rachel would have been annoyed but she was otherwise preoccupied with her thoughts.

She was anxious. Her big personality didn't always help her during auditions and she really hoped that her attempt at joining the football team wouldn't end in a similar fashion. After Noah left, Rachel decided to practice her game face in her bathroom mirror. She had spent weeks preparing for this opportunity. She had watched movies, shows, and documentaries that related to football. There was a lot to learn, but thankfully Rachel was an excellent student.

It didn't take long for her to catch on to the rules and to memorize the positions and their respective roles. And it was with that knowledge that she concluded that she would be best suited to be a running back. People wouldn't guess it but Rachel was pretty fast, and she knew that her petite stature would help her avoid the opposing team. Rachel had been able to figure out that much, but she was having a bit more trouble with her game face.

Rachel snarled at her mirror and tried to look mean, but it was hard. Rachel wasn't mean. Sure, she knew that she could be bossy sometimes, but that wasn't the same thing as being mean. She decided to go for a different approach and thought of something that would make her mad. She imagined being rejected after auditioning for the role of Fannie Brice. Her nostrils flared and growled. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked silly. She sounded even sillier. At that moment Rachel was very glad that her room was soundproof. She would have been so embarrassed if either of her dads had heard her.

She went back into her room and checked the time. It was just about to hit nine so she decided to get ready for bed. She had managed to talk Noah into speaking with Coach Beiste the following day, and as long as she agreed then Rachel would have her tryout right then and there. A good night's rest was just what Rachel needed. She performed her nightly ritual which took a precisely a half hour and curled up under her covers.

The following day at school seemed to go on forever. Early on in the day Noah had managed to talk with Coach Beiste. He was able to convince her to give his friend a shot, but he happened to leave out the little detail about his friend being tiny, little Rachel Berry. Rachel was upset about that, but he assured her that Coach Beiste wouldn't care. There was little that Rachel could do but believe him. She at least had a chance and that was better than she could have hoped for.

As the day went on, she started to get excited and her school work suffered. Rachel was always so attentive in class, but all she could think about was scoring that touchdown and having her cheerleader girlfriend jump into her arms. And all the times that she saw Quinn throughout the day didn't help. Rachel couldn't keep her eyes off her. Everything about her, from her golden blond hair to her hazel eyes and firm ass, was perfect. The fact that she was somehow still single always amazed Rachel. Not that she minded of course. In fact, Rachel liked to think that Quinn was waiting for her to make a move.

Regardless of whether or not she was though, Rachel was determined to sweep Quinn off her feet. As the day came to a close, she headed off for the football field. Noah was waiting for her near the locker rooms. He was carrying a set of football equipment and a practice jersey. Much to Rachel's delight, it had the number one on it. She took the gear from him and was surprised to find that is was slightly heavier than she had anticipated. Rachel buckled forward a few inches but quickly regained her balance. Noah groaned and shook his head.

"I'm fine," Rachel told him, but he simply continued to shake his head before jogging to the field.

"Just get changed," he called out to her. "I'll introduce you to Coach after."

Rachel did as she was told and brought the gear into the girls' locker room. It was mostly empty, but there were a few Cheerios grabbing their pompoms. They looked at her strangely as they left, whispering among themselves. Rachel ignored them and checked to see if Quinn was around. She wasn't. She shouldn't have been though as she was Captain and thus expected to the first one out. And that was probably for the best because Rachel was very comfortable with the idea of Quinn seeing her while she changed. Maybe once they got a few months into their relationship she'd be okay with it, but at the moment she was feeling self-conscious.

She waited until she was sure that everyone was gone before getting undressed. Rachel put on the equipment that Noah had gotten her and double checked everything to make sure everything was secure. She then went to the restroom to give herself a once over in the mirror. If she had to be honest, she would say that she looked pretty weird but she looked good. The gear fit quite nicely and with her pads and her helmet, Rachel felt invincible. She felt confident that everything would work out just as planned.

Rachel exited the locker room with her head held high. She marched out to the football field where the team was already assembled. A few of the players saw her coming and looked her way. They turned to each other and started talking, with confusion etched on their faces. Noah looked skeptical as he watched her approach, but true to his word he walked Coach Beiste over to introduce the two of them. "So Coach, this is my friend, Rachel Berry." Rachel smiled widely and extended her hand out in front of her.

Coach Beiste looked Rachel over from top to bottom, sizing her up. She looked unsure, but she reached out for Rachel's hand and gave it a nice, firm shake. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Coach," Rachel greeted in turn, as she fought the urge to shake the pain out of her hand. Coach Beiste had one strong of a grip.

"Puck here tells me that you want to try out for the team," she said as she gave Noah a hard pat on the back.

"Yes I do." Rachel nodded eagerly. "I'd like to audition for running back," she quickly said before she could correct herself. Noah made a pained sound while some of his teammates chuckled. "I mean try out. I'd like to try out for running back." Not even a minute in and she had already embarrassed herself. Rachel expected to get turned down. She wouldn't have blamed Coach Beiste, but all Coach Beiste did was glare at her team. They shut up quickly.

Once she had put them in their place, Coach Beiste brought her attention back to Rachel. "All right, let's see what you can do." Rachel's eyes lit up and she almost jumped up and hugged Coach Beiste, but she was able to stop herself. Coach got practice started and told Rachel to get with the offence.

"Yes ma'am!"

"It's Coach not ma'am."

"Yes ma'am- er, I mean Coach."

Rachel and Noah went over to get in the huddle with the offence. As they strode over, Noah gave Rachel a pat on the back. When they got close they heard the quarterback, Finn Hudson going over the play. Finn got them caught up and once everyone was set they broke the huddle.

"A girl playing football, huh?" Finn pondered aloud before taking his spot. "Cool."

Rachel laughed. "Cool," she agreed.

She got into place and focused on her goal. She was going to prove to everyone what she was capable of. And she was going to make Quinn Fabray her girlfriend. The ball was snapped and Rachel ran to her right. Finn handed her the ball and she took it. Rachel continued to run but found two defenders right in front of her. Her heart started to race. They were both three times her size. She was going to get crushed. But she kept her cool. She juked to the left and one of the defenders zoomed right past her.

The other one was still coming though. Rachel halted her movements and spun to the right, confusing the other defender enough to give her a chance to run ahead of him. She used her speed to keep her distance. Not once did she look back for fear of finding that the defense was right on her tail. Rachel kept running, with only one thought on her mind. Well, actually two thoughts. The first was Quinn. And the second was to not get killed. She just kept going and going and going. And then she realized it. She had gotten to the end zone.

Rachel turned around to find the entire team staring at her in disbelief. She felt good. No, she felt great. She leapt up and spiked the ball before performing a little victory dance. Once she was done, she saw Coach Beiste approach. Rachel immediately told herself to calm down. She smiled up at her and nervously asked, "So, what do you think?"

"What do I think? What do I think?" She let the words hang and then looked as though she were thinking things over. She then gave a strong pat on the back that nearly knocked her over. "I think we have a new running back!"

"I'm on the team?!"

"You're on the team. Congratulations."

"Thank you!" Unable to stop herself, Rachel leapt up and hugged her Coach. A second later she pulled back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it, Rachel. Just get back on the field."

"Yes, Coach."


	2. Chapter 2

Football practice went on for a few hours. By the end of it, Rachel was covered in sweat, dirt and success, but mostly success. Although Coach Beiste had already let her join the team, Rachel still had a lot to prove. They ended up running a lot of running plays to test out Rachel's skills. She proved to be superb when going to the outside. All she needed to do was get a little space between her and the defenders and she was gone.

Sadly, she wasn't as good when going through the middle. It was easy to tell just by looking at her, but Rachel simply lacked the upper body strength to shove the defensive tackles out of the way. Her small stature did help in trying to slip under them, but if she stood any chance of consistently breaking through their defensive line she would need some help from her blockers.

Rachel ended up getting hit a couple of times, and she was sure that she'd have a bruise or two in the morning but she felt good. She headed back for the girl's locker room to get changed and to clean up. It was empty when she got in because Cheerios' practice was always longer than football practice. It gave Rachel some privacy to take off her football gear. She didn't know exactly how long they'd be out there though so she decided to try and be quick about changing.

She moved swiftly, removing her helmet, jersey and pads. She smelt a bit, but not too bad. For a moment she considered whether or not she take a shower or just head home. But before she could make a decision, Rachel heard the door swing open. She could hear the Cheerios chatting so Rachel hastily grabbed her top and put it on. They started passing by her just as she had gotten it straightened out. She would just have to shower at home.

After a few moments the Cheerios had all reached their respective lockers. Some of them had lockers in the same row as Rachel, and that made her a bit self-conscious. She resumed changing and tried to pretend that the other girls weren't around. Once she was done, she got her things in order and headed for the door. Just as she reached it, the door swung open. Enter Quinn Fabray, and Rachel's knees buckled. Despite her hours of practice Quinn didn't have a drop of sweat on her. Her skin was flawless. She was breathtaking.

Rachel opened her mouth and said hi, or at least she tried to. She had never been this close to Quinn before, never been able to see her beauty in such detail. For once in her life, Rachel Berry was completely and utterly speechless which was just great. As far as first impressions went, this had to be the worst. But it wasn't because Quinn didn't even seem to notice her awestruck behavior. "Excuse me," she said politely before walking past Rachel.

She slowly turned with each step Quinn took, carefully following her movements. Rachel watched as she walked away. "No, don't go," she whimpered out, but Quinn was already too far away to hear, which was a good thing of course. She hastily made her exit to avoid making a bigger fool of herself. Once she got outside she found that it was getting late. She would need to get home soon, but unfortunately Rachel didn't own a car.

Noah would give her a ride though, so long as he was still around, which he mostly likely was as he would almost always stick around for a while whenever Rachel left school late. He would always have a number of different explanations for why he would do so, but Rachel knew better. She knew that he stayed around because her cared and wanted to make sure that she got home safe. She always thanked him. Rachel headed for the parking lot, and just as expected Noah was there, leaning against his car. He pushed himself up and strode over to her.

"You sure took your damn time, didn't you?" he complained playfully.

"It's not easy looking this good," Rachel joked back; if only avoid having to tell her best friend of her most embarrassing behavior in the locker room. He would never let her live it down. Noah chuckled and shook his head. He opened the passenger side door and held his hand out to help Rachel into her seat. Rachel took it graciously. "Ooh, this is a surprise. And here I thought that you didn't know the first thing about chivalry."

"Hey, I can be chivalrous," Noah argued. "It just takes too much effort," he reasoned. He shut the door and walked over the driver's side. He got in and started up the car. He was about to back out of his parking spot, but before he did he put on his seat beat. Rachel smiled at him proudly. Noah scoffed at her. "I'm only putting this thing on so you won't bother me about it later."

As Noah started to drive Rachel reached for the radio and turned it on. She flipped through the stations, searching for something that she like and stopped once she heard the powerful vocals of Celine Dion. She turned up the volume and mouthed out the lyrics. Beside her, Noah cringed. The moment he had a chance he changed the station to something her preferred. Rachel gasped at as her music was suddenly replaced with some form of rock that had lots of yelling in it.

"Hey, I was listening to that!" she yelled as she reached for the radio to switch it back to Celine.

"And I've told you before to not touch my radio," Noah reminded. The two of them fought for a while to see who would control the radio, but Noah eventually lost as he was forced to focus on the road. Rachel cheered for her victory. It was now one thousand five hundred sixty two to zero, or something like that. Rachel had kind of lost count. Noah tried to look annoyed, but Rachel could see the faintest of smiles upon his face.

"So I did pretty well today," Rachel asked him once she was done with her victory celebration.

"You were all right," he answered, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"All right? All right? Didn't you see me? I flew by all you guys," she bragged. "No one could catch me. I think I just might be the best player on the team." Sure, maybe it was a bit early to say something like that but Rachel thought that maybe her words were true. She may not have been the biggest or the strongest but she made up for that with speed and agility. So long as she stuck to her strengths, Rachel was sure to become the star of the football team in no time.

And after that, it would only be a matter of time before Quinn Fabray was her girlfriend. Everything, not counting her pathetic encounter with Quinn, was going exactly as planned. Nothing could stop her now.

"Berry, what the hell was that?!" Coach Beiste scre

* * *

amed after Rachel dropped her eighth catch in a row. Rachel tried to apologize but Coach wasn't hearing it. "Just get back in formation," she told her. "Run it again!" Rachel nodded quickly and ran back to her spot. It was supposed to be a simple screen pass. All she had to do was run to the side, Finn would pass it to her and once she had it all Rachel had to do was run for the end zone while Noah and a receiver named Mike blocked defenders for her.

The only issue was that Rachel just couldn't get the ball in her grasp. A couple of times she had gotten lucky, but catching one pass out of every five or six wouldn't cut it in a real game. Noah could sense her anxiety and gave her a reassuring pat on the back. Rachel smiled at him in thanks as he got into position. Rachel readied herself for Finn to start the play. The moment he did, she darted left. Her eyes scanned the field, checking for defenders and occasionally to look back at Finn to see if were ready to throw her way.

Finn took a few steps back. Once of the linebackers had made his way around the offensive line. He was making a beeline towards Finn. He almost had him when Finn turned to Rachel. He threw the ball at her and she leapt up. She had the ball by her fingertips and then felt it slip right through her grip. Coach Beiste blew on her whistle and bellowed, "Again!" Rachel sighed and retrieved the ball. She tossed it over to Finn, nearly missing, and groaned before retaking her spot.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Finn told her. "You'll get it next time."

She didn't. Much of practice went the same way. It was disheartening. And the more Rachel failed, the more insistent Coach Beiste got over running passing plays. She seemed determined to improve Rachel's catching skills. It was either that or she just wanted to make Rachel feel awful. If it was the latter than she surely succeeded. By the end of practice Rachel had held onto the ball for no more than a few minutes.

Because of that, she hadn't gotten tackled even once. But she would have preferred to have taken the hits rather than have herself be embarrassed in front of Quinn. But if the previous day had been any indication then maybe Quinn hadn't even noticed at all. For the first time ever, Rachel was actually glad that she was practically invisible to Quinn. Despite that though, she didn't want to risk facing her in the locker room.

Rachel made a hasty retreat after changing and went straight for Noah's car. He wasn't there yet when she arrived to she lean back against it and waited for him. Slowly, she watched as other players from the football team made their ways to their cars. They came out mostly in groups. Some were chatting; laughing. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe they were laughing at her, thinking that made her feel sad. She wanted to curl up into a ball, but doing so would get her skirt dirty.

"Hey, you okay?" Rachel turned around. Behind her was Noah. He looked concerned.

"Where have you been?" she asked briskly.

"I was changing," he reminded her in a joking tone but he quickly found that she wasn't amused. "And you didn't answer my question." Rachel looked him straight in the eye, her arms crossed over her chest. She had to stay strong, and she was prepared to do just that but instead she broke down.

"I suck," she admitted, her eyes falling down to her feet. Noah placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head up. He was about to say something sweet and comforting, but then he stopped and started to think, as though he was only just registering what Rachel had said. It took Rachel less than a second to know what he was imagining. She pulled away from him and smacked him on the arm. "Not like that, you jerk!"

"Ow!" Noah started rubbing his arm, feigning hurt as he laughed.

"Jeez, do you always have to be such a pervert?"

"Oh, you know you love me for it," he said as he took her into his arms. "Besides, it got you smiling, didn't it?" And on that he was right. Rachel didn't feel a bit better, but her problems weren't solved yet. And as though reading her mind Noah spoke up, "And don't worry, we'll teach you how to catch." Rachel groaned through her smile.

"Why can't I just run?" she complained. "I'm good at that."

"Not my call Jew babe, not my call."

"I know," Rachel sighed. "I guess it would be a good idea to round out my skills, right?"

"That's the spirit. Now let's get you home." He opened up the door for her and helped her get inside. Rachel buckled up while Noah got into the driver's seat. He started up the car and then turned to her and said, "You know, Quinn's not going to be too interested in you if you suck." Rachel hit him. "Ow! I meant at football," he clarified. "She wouldn't be interested in you if sucked at football." Rachel rolled her eyes. She knew what he meant. "But don't worry; I talked with Finn and Sam. Sam's our backup quarterback. Anyway, I talked with them and they're both cool with doing some extra practice with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I kind of hate to say it, but I think you might just be our best shot at having a winning season." A beaming smile made its way onto Rachel's lips upon hearing Noah's compliment, and at the same time Noah's face fell. "Fuck, I should have never told you that." Rachel scowled and once more punched Noah on the arm. "Stopping hitting me woman!"


	3. Chapter 3

It was after school, after football practice to be more precise, and Rachel, Noah, Finn and Sam were the only people on the field. The Cheerios were in the gym for one reason or another and the rest of the football team was long gone. Rachel was eternally grateful that Finn and Sam had stayed behind. She didn't know either one of them very well so it meant a lot to her that they'd go out of their way to help her practice catching. "It's what teammates do," Sam had told her, and she immediately knew that she would like him.

They started off practicing a curl route. It was Noah's idea. There was no real reason to do so because Rachel would never have to run a curl route, but his reasoned that it would be a good starting point as she would actually be facing the quarterback when he threw her the ball. Now Noah was never really thought things through, but he did have a point so Rachel couldn't argue. All she had to do was run straight, as though running a fly route, but then stop and turn towards the quarterback abruptly. It seemed simple enough, especially after Noah gave her a demonstration.

"All right, you think you can do that?"

"Yeah."

Rachel got into position, standing off to the side of the quarterback as opposed to her normal spot behind him. She looked over at Finn who gave her a thumbs up. She could do this. She could. "Hut. Hut. Hike!" he yelled as though they were actually in a game. Rachel imagined the other players all around them, the fans on the bleachers. She could hear them roaring, cheering for her. Her feet began to move and in seconds Rachel was darting down the field.

She ran forward for ten or so yards and immediately spun to face Finn. His eyes flew in her direction he threw the ball right at her. Rachel reached up to grab it. She felt it in her hands but she couldn't get a proper hold of it. The ball slipped right through her fingertips. It hadn't hit the floor yet so Rachel tried once more to grasp onto it, but she managed to knock it away and fall down flat on her face. She heard someone groan, but she didn't know if it was her or one of the three boys with her.

Rachel pushed herself up to her knees and right in front of her was Noah. He reached out a hand and helped pull her up to her feet. "You almost had it," he assured her. "Just you wait, in no time it'll be second nature." Rachel nodded her agreement and got back into formation. They ran the route again with similar results. But Rachel wouldn't give up. The future of her relationship, that hadn't even started yet, depended on her being able to learn how to catch.

The day grew long with Rachel trying different passing routes as Finn and Sam threw the ball at her. She managed to catch a few, but not nearly enough to boost her confidence. There was also the fact that in a real game there would be other players trying to swat the ball away. Noah stayed supportive though, cheering Rachel on despite her failures. It helped keep her morale up. It was also nice that there was no one else on the field.

But of course, just as luck would have it, at that very thought Rachel saw the Cheerios approaching. Quinn was there front and center. She froze mid-play and almost tripped over her own feet. "Rach, are you okay?" she heard Noah call. He started to walk to her but Rachel held a hand out behind her, telling him to halt. It was reasonable for Quinn to not have noticed her when the entire team was on the field, but now that there were only four of them she was certain to be seen. And the last thing that Rachel needed was to have the guys fussing over her because she didn't know what she was doing.

Her heart began to race. She looked over to the boys and then back to the Cheerios. Noah followed her line of sight and he instantly understood. He turned to Rachel for confirmation and she nodded for them to continue. She got back into place and prayed that she didn't just make the biggest mistake of her life. After giving Rachel and Noah a strange look Finn handed the ball to Sam. Sam took his spot. "You ready?" he called. Rachel nodded. She was as ready as she would ever be. "Hut. Hut. Hike!"

Rachel raced forward at top speed. She was tired, but seeing Quinn had given her a second wind. She looked back at Sam just as he lobbed the ball at her. The ball flew towards her but it was high up. Rachel didn't know if she would be able to reach it, but she had to try. She leapt up into the air and extended her arms out for the ball. She could just feel it, but like so many times before the ball was slipping.

It was going to fall, but Rachel held on and pulled it in close to her chest. Her feet touched the ground and she stumbled forward. It was all very dramatic, and was to be well expected when it came to someone like Rachel. She could have sworn that she had heard a gasp during that split second when she knew that she was going to hit the floor. But her feet kept upright and she was good. Rachel felt good. She felt great. She was so happy. She looked over towards the Cheerios to gauge Quinn's reaction and then frowned.

Quinn hadn't noticed. Her back was turned. She was busy giving instructions. Rachel groaned. "Hey, what's wrong? That was great!" Rachel didn't want to tell him, and she tried not to look over at Quinn again but apparently she did because a moment later Noah was looking in Quinn's direction too. "Ah, don't worry about that," he told her. "So what if she missed one good catch? There'll be others, right?"

"Of course there will be," Rachel said with a bright smile. The two of them headed back down the field but were met halfway by Finn and Sam who had both just recovered from their states of shock. They cheered and lifted Rachel up onto their shoulders, causing her to let out a squeal. Noah laughed at her, and if she was several feet in the air Rachel would have hit him. Their little celebration caused a bit of a commotion and it didn't take long before everyone in the area was looking in their direction.

Briefly, Quinn's eyes met Rachel's. She smiled and she appeared to be giggling, but before Rachel could make sure Finn and Sam were already placing her back down on the ground. Quinn gathered up the Cheerios and they huddled up around her. Her face could no longer be seen unless Rachel was back up on Finn and Sam's shoulders, but she wasn't about to ask them to lift her up again. Putting on a smile, Rachel grabbed the boys so that they could keep on practicing.

Maybe it was the pressure of knowing that Quinn was so close by, but somehow Rachel's performance improved. She didn't catch every pass thrown her way but she was far more consistent, and after every successful catch she'd casually glance over to where the Cheerios were practicing. Quinn was always busy. She'd be stretching, giving orders, or performing their routine. It was a bit disappointing, especially since Rachel was doing far better but being able to see Quinn stretch was a fair compromise.

Rachel couldn't help but lick her lips. Of course Rachel loved Quinn for more than just her looks, but there was no denying that she was also the hottest girl in the school, perhaps even the world. Everything about her was just so sexy; from the way she wore her hair to voice and especially the smoldering look that she gave just before she… All right, okay so Rachel had never actually seen Quinn give a smoldering look before but she could guess that she'd look really hot.

Just thinking about it made Rachel's knees go weak. She shook away those thoughts and ran back to the guys. She tossed the ball back to Finn and go back into position. "Are you okay Rachel?" Sam asked, before Finn could get set.

"Yeah, fine," Rachel answered quickly before Finn got concerned as well. "Let's keep going." Finn simply shrugged, giving absolutely no impression that he found anything at all to be even the slightest bit suspicious. He got set and Rachel did as well.

"Hut. Hut. Hike!" Rachel darted down the field, running about a dozen or so yards before making a forty five degree turn towards the center of the field. She kept running and Finn threw the ball a few feet in front of her. Rachel ran up to it but was just a little too far away. It zoomed past her. "Sorry!" Finn called to her. "That was my bad. Let's try it again!" Rachel smiled at him and nodded before walking over to retrieve the ball. She got back into place and tossed it over to Finn.

They ran the route again and Rachel was able to get a catch, a sloppy looking catch, but a catch. It was progress, perhaps not enough for their first game, but Rachel was confident that she'd be able to improve before they got too far into the season. Of course, she kind of had to. They ran the route a few more times until Rachel was able to make ten catches in a row. Once she had, they went on to practice a similar route which had Rachel running in the opposite direction towards the sidelines and where the Cheerios were.

Their first attempt went smoothly with Rachel making a perfect catch. A brunette Cheerio, a junior whose name Rachel didn't know, smiled at her shyly and waved as her cheeks reddened. Rachel waved back, a tiny blush appearing on her cheeks. The brunette Cheerio smiled even wider but then a moment later Quinn called her to get her attention. She started to apologize and Rachel decided not to listen it. She ran back to the boys and hoped that her cheeks had returned to the natural color.

She couldn't tell if her cheeks were still red but if they were no one said anything about it. They ran the route a second time and the ball seemed to fall perfectly in Rachel's hands, but then it slipped out and rolled away. Rachel sighed and chased after it. She followed it for a few feet but then stopped in her tracks when she saw someone squat down to pick it. She glanced up to see who the person it and her heart skipped a beat at seeing Quinn's pretty face. Quinn got up and closed the short distance between them. "Here," she said, extending the football out in front of her. Slowly, Rachel reached out for it. She opened her mouth to say thanks but not a single sound escaped her lips. Quinn didn't seem to mind though. She just smiled before returning to her Cheerios, once again leaving a speechless Rachel behind.

Rachel couldn't believe it. Twice now she had made a fool of herself in front of Quinn. She had always been so confident; not once did she ever experience stage fright. And yet when it came to Quinn, Rachel couldn't even find it in herself to say something as simple as hi. That's all she needed, one simple word so she could introduce herself, and then from there everything would fall into place. It wouldn't take long before Quinn fell for her charm. Quinn would find her witty and cute and funny. She would think that she was the perfect girlfriend. Rachel was sure of that.

Maybe some preparation was all she needed. Yes, that made sense. Practice did make perfect, which was why she was practicing with Finn and Sam and also why she would sing every day for when she would eventually hit Broadway. It seemed a little silly, but there was no harm in trying it out. She gave Quinn once last look before heading back to the guys. Quinn was stretching again, but this time Rachel couldn't get the image out of her head.

Her cheeks were flushed when she got back to Noah. She was glad when he didn't say anything. Her interaction with Quinn was clearly noticeable, and he seemed to know that things didn't go very well. But Rachel's mind wasn't focusing on that. In her head all she could see was Quinn stretching. Those tone defined legs. Oh how Rachel wanted to touch them, kiss them. She shook her head. She needed to focus. She needed to focus… on Quinn's legs. No! Not on Quinn's legs.

"Hut." Focus. "Hut." On Quinn's legs. No! "Hike!"

Rachel burst into a full sprint, the sight of those legs and a perfectly curved behind clear in her mind. She just kept running, just kept going. That's all that Rachel could do. She ran her route, a curl route, the same route that they had started out with. Rachel went deeper than she had initially and then she came to a halt and spun around to face Finn. Their eyes met and he threw a bullet straight for her. Rachel steadied herself to catch.

But then she heard Quinn's voice in her ear. "Like what you see?" she husked.

For a split second Rachel glanced over in Quinn's direction, but then she reminded herself that she needed to focus. But it was too late. When she turned back the ball was too close for her to react. Still, Rachel tried to catch it but whizzed right through her hands and smacked her right on the head. Rachel stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. She began to lose consciousness and her eyes closed with the image of Quinn with a worried expression on her face being the last thing she saw.


	4. Chapter 4

Rachel's head hurt. And it didn't just hurt a little bit. It hurt a lot. Perhaps she was being a bit of a baby, especially she was officially a big tough football player but it hurt. She couldn't really remember what had happened. All she knew was that she wasn't on the field anymore. She seemed to lying on a bed. Her helmet was off and someone was pressing an ice pack to her forehead. Whoever the person was added a bit more pressure and Rachel winced in pain. "Ow."

"Sorry," an angelic voice apologized. She sounded beautiful. She sounded like… wait. Her eyes snapped open. Above her, Quinn was tending to her wound. Quinn pulled the ice pack away to better see Rachel's face. "Hey, are you feeling all right?" Stunned into silence, Rachel could only nod slowly. "That's good. You took quite a hit to the head. I was really scared." The memories came back to her. She was practicing and she had gotten distracted. The ball hit her and…

And Quinn had seen. Quinn had seen. Oh dear. Rachel didn't know how to feel; embarrassed because Quinn had witnessed her get knocked by a football or happy because Quinn was holding her hand. Wait, what? Rachel's eyes drifted down to her hand and found Quinn's hand tightly wrapped around her own. Quinn followed her gaze and then pulled her hand away.

"Sorry," she said again. "Like I said, I was really worried. I'm glad to see that you're okay Rachel."

Once more Rachel was stunned, but having recovered from her initial shock, she was able to speak. "You-you know who I am?" she asked, to which Quinn giggled.

"Of course I do. You're that cute, little girl decided to join the football team." Rachel's cheeks reddened. "Oh, did I embarrass you? I'm sorry," she apologized once more. "You really are cute." More than likely, Rachel's blush intensified. She tried to regain her composure and pushed herself up into a sitting position. As she did, Rachel scanned the area. She didn't quite know where she was. The room they were in looked like the nurse's office. Or at least it looked like  _a_  nurse's office.

Rachel had never been sick a day in her life so there had never been an instant where she had to see the school nurse. She had passed by the place a few times though. Rachel knew what it looked like, and while the room they were in looked similar it clearly wasn't the same. "Where are we?" she asked, partially out of curiosity but mostly to change the subject.

"Oh, we're in Sue's secret first aid room."

"Sue's what?" Rachel knew that the Cheerios had a lot of funding but a secret room.

"Her secret first aid room," Quinn said once more. "Practice can get kind of rough some times. If any of us get hurt we go here. That's after we get yelled at of course. It's only supposed to be for Cheerios, but I made an exception for you." Rachel's heart swelled. Sure she had embarrassed herself but now Quinn was talking care of her, but she had also gone against Sue's word. At that thought Rachel started to worry.

"Won't you get in trouble?"

"I shouldn't, unless you tell. Sue's got this important conference call so I was in charge of the entire practice today. I'll be fine. Besides you should be worrying about yourself. How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"Great." Quinn got up and started walking away. Rachel almost called out to her but she stopped herself. She watched Quinn go over to a cabinet and search through it. After a few seconds she pulled out a bottle of water and a granola bar. She handed them both to Rachel. "Here."

"Thanks," Rachel said as she took the bottle and the granola bar. She unwrapped the granola bar and took a bite. She chewed slowly under Quinn's watchful eye. She still looked to be a bit worried and Rachel had to wonder, "Is there a bruise?"

"No," Quinn shook her head to Rachel's relief. "Your head looks fine." Quinn went back to the cabinet and got a granola bar and a bottle of water. She sat down on the bed next to Rachel and started to eat as well. They were silent for a while, both of them taking small bites out of their granola bars. Rachel needed to say something. She had to find something worth discussing but her mind came up blank. Small talk would be insufficient. Small talk was almost always insufficient.

Maybe a compliment; Rachel liked compliments and most likely Quinn would too. As she took a sip from her bottle, Rachel subtly gave Quinn a once over. There were plenty of things that she liked about Quinn, plenty of nice things that she could say about her. Of course not everything that she could have said would have been completely appropriate. She looked Quinn over, up and down, looking for her most perfect feature. Suddenly, Quinn turned to her, raising an eyebrow as Rachel scanned her legs. It took Rachel a moment or two to notice that she had been caught. She jumped back slightly and quickly tried to come up with an excuse.

"I um… I uh…" Rachel stumbled on her words, her eyes darting around as she searched for anything that could save her. They fell down to their feet. "I uh… like your shoes." She felt stupid as she said the words but they were enough to grab Quinn's attention. She looked down to her shoes with a puzzled look on her face. They were a simple white pair of tennis shoes. They were slightly dirty, but it was clear that Quinn had taken good care of them. There wasn't anything special about them.

"Uh… thanks."

"You're welcome," was all that Rachel could say. She finished up her granola bar and once she was finished Rachel headed for the door. Quinn followed closely behind. Once past the door they were back in the locker room. Rachel looked back at Sue's first aid room and let out a sound of amusement. She had always wondered where that door led to. In retrospect, she should have realized that it had something to do with Sue.

Rachel started heading out but was stopped when Quinn gently grasped onto her wrist. She took a breath to ease the rapid beating of her heart and then turned to face her. "Do you have a ride?" she asked. "Cause if you don't I have a car. I just want to make sure you get home safe."

"Actually I…" She was about to say that Noah would drive her home. The words almost slipped right through her lips, but she stopped herself from making that big mistake. "Actually I don't. I'd really appreciate that. Thanks."

"Great. Just give me a sec; I just want to take a shower first." For a brief moment Rachel's mind fizzled out. She was able to quickly able to regain her composure though, but she lost it just as swiftly as Quinn continued on. "Of course you could take one too if you want." There wasn't the slightest bit of seduction in her tone but somehow some part of Rachel seemed to take that as an invitation to join Quinn in the shower. She then suddenly shook her head, tossing those thoughts away. "Okay, if you don't want to. I'll try to be quick, okay?"

And with that Quinn headed off which perhaps was for the best. Rachel stilled needed to find Noah anyway. She got changed and then headed out of the locker room. Not far away Noah was waiting, leaning against a wall. Upon seeing her he pushed himself off the wall and smile. He put on a façade, pretending that he wasn't worried but Rachel that he was. After all, he did try to talk her out of joining in the first place. It just wasn't in Noah's nature to show his sensitive side though.

He came up to her and pulled her in for a bone crushing hug. Rachel was lucky that she had only hit her head or else his embrace would have really hurt. After a while her pulled back and took a firm grip of her shoulder. "Told those guys that you'd be okay," he said. "Finn was crying a little punk." Rachel laughed despite the fact that she didn't want Finn to feel guilty over what had happened. It was her own fault anyway. "Would have beat the crap out of him though if you were hurt."

"Noah!" Rachel chastised, lightly smacking him on the chest.

"Just telling the truth," he told her, holding his hands out in front of him to prevent any further assault. Rachel pretended to hit him once more but stopped once he flinched. She laughed. He rolled his eyes. "Ready to go?" he asked, already turning around and walking towards the parking lot.

"Actually… you go on without me." Noah stopped in his tracks and spun around. He looked at her, the unspoken question etched across his face. "I'm getting a ride from someone else," she stated, somewhat meekly. There was a part of her that didn't want to tell him everything just in case she failed spectacularly, but Noah was her best friend and they shared everything with each other… Well, not Quinn. Rachel would never share Quinn with Noah. "Quinn… she uh… she offered to give me a ride and I said yes."

A grin appeared on Noah's face. He started to laugh joyously and then he suddenly lifted Rachel up, causing her to squeal in surprise as he cheered in triumph. "Woo! Yeah! That a girl!"

"Noah put me down!" He ignored her for a while but eventually he put her down.

He hugged her once more. "This is your chance Jew Babe. Get that ass!" She should have defended Quinn's honor, and she would have. Rachel didn't like the idea of Noah referring to Quinn as 'that ass' but doing so would make her a big fat hypocrite. It wasn't something that Rachel was proud of but there were plenty of occasions when Quinn would pass by, the pleats of her cheerleading skirt flying about. During those times it was hard for any thought to pass through Rachel's mind, except for one; that ass! So Rachel let off the hook, at least for the time being. Once Quinn was her girlfriend then no one would be allowed to refer to Quinn in such a way except for Rachel. He gave her a pat on the back and with a, "Good luck," he was off.

After that, Rachel just had to wait. She paced back and forth, briefly pondering if she should go back into the locker room to check on Quinn. She weighed the pros and cons in her mind, but before she could make a decision Quinn was already finished. She had changed out of her Cheerios uniform into a simple white top and a pair of jeans that hugged her curves perfectly. Her hair was still wet, and Rachel was sure that she was as well.

"Ready?" she asked pleasantly. Rachel nodded silently and Quinn began leading her to her car. Rachel didn't actually need directions though. Even if she didn't know where Quinn had parked, Rachel knew that Quinn drove a red Volkswagen Bug. She was able to spot the car only seconds after they reached the parking lot. They walked towards it. "So this is my car," Quinn said, stepping aside to present it to Rachel. "Cute, isn't she?"

"Yeah, really cute." Rachel stepped towards the passenger side door and Quinn came up right beside her. She held the door open for her as Rachel got inside. Quinn then got to the driver's side and got buckled in before starting up the car. She checked to see if Rachel her seatbelt on, and when she confirmed that she did, Quinn backed out of her spot.

"Where do you live?"

"241 Birch Hill Road. Do you know how to get there?"

"I do actually." They set off and Rachel reached for the radio. Her fingers were just touching the knob when she remembered that she was in Noah's car. Rachel cleared her throat to grab Quinn's attention. When Quinn looked over, Rachel gestured to the radio, silently asking for permission. "Oh, go ahead." Rachel said her thanks and turned the radio on. She flipped through the stations, searching for something that she liked. As she twisted the knob she heard a familiar tune. She flipped back to the station and smile, letting the music play.

Quinn raised an eyebrow as Paramore blared out of her radio. Rachel started to worry. Maybe she should have played it more carefully with music choice. "I love this song. Never would have guessed that you liked it too." Rachel's smile widened. The two of them were so perfect for each other; Quinn just didn't know it yet. Rachel just had to show her that they were. They didn't talk much more for the rest of the ride. They discussed Paramore a bit; told each other their favorite songs, and Quinn pulled out her iPod so that she could play them.

After a while they arrived at Rachel's house and Quinn parked outside. She looked outside and said, "Here we are." Rachel looked out as well. The drive seemed to fly by so fast. She felt like there was so much more that she could have done to show Quinn that they were soulmates. "Your house is really nice."

"Thanks, and thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome. Is your head feeling okay?"

"It feels fine, thank you."

"That's great. Bye."

"Bye."

Rachel exited the car and headed up to her front porch. Behind her, Quinn had let to leave. Rachel searched for her keys and unlocked the door. She looked back and found that Quinn was still parked outside her house. Rachel waved at her and Quinn waved back. Once Rachel was safely inside, Quinn drove off.

"Pumpkin, are you home?!" Hiram called from inside the living room.

"Yes Papa, I'm here!" Rachel headed in his direction and got to the living room just as Hiram got to his feet and closed his book. He walked up to her and hugged her, kissing her on the top of the head.

"How was your day?"

"Great Papa."

"That's good, pumpkin. Was that Noah?"

"Um… no." Rachel stumbled on her words somewhat. "I actually got a ride from someone else." Hiram sounded surprised. He would want to know more and if he didn't ask immediately, he would certainly ask later on. "Quinn Fabray."

"Quinn Fabray, huh? Is she in Glee Club with you?"

"No, she's head of the Cheerios."

"Oh, well you should invite her in next time. Your father and I would love to meet more of your friends." Rachel simply nodded. Maybe she would, that is if there actually was a next time. And she really hoped that there would be. Rachel headed up to her room and jumped into bed. She was pretty tired and she needed some rest. Later that night, she dreamt of Quinn.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a spring in Rachel's step as she got up from bed. Of course there was usually a spring in her step as she was a very happy, optimistic person, but it was different and understandably so. Quinn had talked to her, like really talked to her, and she even called her cute. Maybe it wasn't the most perfect way for them to have met, but there was no denying that the two of them had clicked. Rachel had known for a while that Quinn was her soulmate and spending some time with her only helped to confirm that fact.

She was so happy. She just had to share the good news. After preparing for the day and eating a hearty breakfast she headed outside where Noah was waiting to drive her off to school. He quirked an eyebrow at her as he walked her skip down to him, clearly noting her exceptionally chipper mood. He didn't even get to ask before Rachel told him about the previous day. "She called me cute," she told him. "Quinn called me cute. She thinks I'm cute."

"I see," he replied with a weak nod. He was trying to hold back his laughter. Normally Rachel would get mad at him for spoiling her good mood, but as it was he actually wasn't. She felt amazing, and she knew that nothing could have brought her down. She got into his car and they drove off, once again fighting over control of the radio. Once more Rachel won. During the short trip, she told him more about what had happened. Not a detail was spared. From how Quinn tended to her head to their similar taste in music, Rachel made sure that Noah was well informed. She did happen to leave out the whole shower thing. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out where Noah's mind would go if he heard about that.

He was happy for her of course, and after she told her story the two of them discussed further passing practice. Rachel remembered about Finn and felt a little bad. She made a mental note to talk to him to make sure that he didn't blame himself. Rachel asked about what Finn's first period was. Noah assured her that she wouldn't have to worry about Finn, but he knew how Rachel would get so he told her anyway. Rachel thanked him and once they were at school she sped off in that direction.

Despite enjoying accomplishing things alone, Rachel knew the value of teamwork. Victory in football required such teamwork. Even though she was good, Rachel knew that she wouldn't be able to win by herself. She would need the help of her team, Finn especially since he was there starting quarterback. Of course she was worried about Finn too. It's not as though she only wanted to make sure he was okay so that he could play his part in her grand plan of winning the heart of Quinn Fabray. No, no. That wasn't her motivation at all… except you know maybe it was, but just kind of.

Rachel made her way through the halls at a moderately fast pace. She weaved in and out between her fellow students. It was almost as though she was on the field and everyone else comprised the defense. Before long Rachel was at Finn's class, first period English. She checked inside to see if he was there but he wasn't. She frowned, but there was nothing to be done. Rachel turned around to exit and quickly made her way to her own class.

She walked down the hall and rounded a corner, and then she heard it. "Hey! Rachel!" She stopped at the sound of Quinn's voice. Rachel turned to find her approaching from the same direction that she had just come from. As she got closer, Quinn reached up and brushed away a few loose strands of Rachel's hair, which caused her heart to flutter. "How's your head?"

"F-fine."

"That's good. Well, see you." She waved with a smile and walked away.

"B-Bye."

Rachel was far less eloquent than the day before, but she held her head up high. She hadn't even been able to practice how she was going to talk to Quinn yet. After a few conversations with her mirror, Rachel would surely be able to get Quinn to fall in love with her. But until then Rachel had other things to worry about. Her first game was coming up, and she needed to get ready, and for that she would still need to talk to Finn.

But she needed to get to class unless she wanted to risk getting there late, which she didn't. Rachel would have to wait until lunch to go find him. She had far more advanced classes than he did, or at least Rachel was sure that she did. It wasn't as though Rachel knew much about Finn's schedule, but from the short time that she had gotten to know him Rachel learned that he wasn't exactly the brightest guy around. And yet, girls still fawned over him.

Not Quinn though.

After the first half of the day was done Rachel headed off for the cafeteria. Her day had been fairly uneventful up until then, and she didn't it to get any more exciting as the day wore on. Apart from classes, all that awaited her was that talk with Finn and football practice. The latter would come later, but as it was lunch she could easily find Finn. The Cheerios and the football team always sat together at the same table. Noah would occasionally sit there with them, but most of the time he'd sit with Rachel. A couple of times he had invited Rachel to sit with them, and one time she did… way at the very edge where she had practically hid behind Noah the entire time. Not exactly her finest moment, but this was back when she was still a freshman.

She made her way there, tray in hand, and instantly saw Finn. He was exactly hard to find as he was so tall. He was standing beside the table, his back turned to Rachel. From what she could tell, he was talking to someone but whoever it was must have been far smaller than him as Rachel couldn't even get the slightest glimpse of him or her. She walked over slowly, trying her best not to eavesdrop. Of course it was hard to do so when Rachel heard her voice.

"Look, I said that you're not sitting here today."

"Oh, come on."

"You heard her Manboobs. Just get out of here before I have to go all Lima Heights on you." Santana Lopez. She was well known in the school for being the hottest girl around (not in Rachel's opinion, of course) and also for being Quinn's second in command. Truthfully, the Cheerios feared Santana more than Quinn, and for good reason.

Finn though, didn't seem to take her threat seriously, although her words did sound very genuine. He continued on with pleading with Quinn. "It was an accident," he told her. "I didn't mean to hit her. You know that." Rachel heard Santana scoff. "I didn't," he emphasized, this time aiming his words at her.

"I know, but you should have been more careful."

"Okay. I know, all right? I feel really bad and-"

"Don't," Quinn cut him off. "Just don't say anything. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm really mad at you. I really don't want to see your face right now so please, just go sit somewhere else for today." Finn's shoulders fell. It was clear that he knew that he was getting nowhere. He muttered something under his breath and turned around. He took a step forward but stopped the instant he saw Rachel.

"Oh, hey," he said nervously, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with one hand as he held onto his tray with the other. "How's your head? Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm good Finn, and so is my head."

"Good," Finn nodded. "That's good. I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't-"

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is!"

"No one asked you Santana!" Santana laughed. Finn turned his attention back to Rachel. "Well, it's really good to see that you're okay. I'll see you later at practice, all right?" Rachel nodded her answer with a smile. Finn smiled back and then he went off to find somewhere to eat. For a moment Rachel felt bad for him, but then she saw Quinn in front of her and she decided that she could worry about Finn later.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"You want to sit down with us?"

"Um… uh, okay."

Quinn's lips curved up into a smile. She gently grabbed Rachel by the wrist and led her to the table. She sat down and had Rachel sit beside her. "This is Santana and that's Brittany," she said, pointing to her two best friends in turn.

Brittany eagerly waved at her, extending her hand out with a happy, "Hi!" But Santana was far less enthusiastic and merely glanced in her direction. Quinn continued introducing the Cheerios but didn't bother to do so with the football players as Rachel knew most of them already. Once Quinn was done, Rachel started to eat while making mild conversation with the Unholy Trinity.

She had never imagined something like that to ever happen and yet it was. Brittany thought it was really cool how Rachel had joined the football team. Santana on the other hand was less supportive and consistently questioned how Rachel wouldn't get crushed. And Quinn would have to tell Santana off and reassure Rachel that she'd be okay. Rachel would nod in agreement even though Santana's words did scare her a bit.

At some point Noah came by. At first he looked confused, but once he noticed Quinn he quickly pieced things together. He quickly and subtly glanced between the two of them, silently asking Rachel how things were going. Rachel simply smiled out her answer. He came to over to her and gave her a hug. "Hey Jew babe." Afterwards he sat down and started chatting with the guys. They'd get to talk about everything later. Or that is to say that Rachel would talk and Noah would listen. Regardless, her paid close attention to what they were talking about. He'd smirk whenever Quinn would defend Rachel from Santana's discouraging words.

Rachel's second time at the popular table went far better than her first. She wondered if maybe she'd be able to sit there again. Quinn seemed to enjoy her company and she was officially a jock even if she didn't have the letterman jacket to show off her status. It only seemed right to eat with Quinn the following day. The best part was that Rachel had gotten along with Quinn's best friends. Brittany just thought that she was the coolest girl ever and despite the fact that Santana was being mean, Rachel knew that she at least was able to gain her respect.

When lunch ended Rachel said her goodbyes and headed off for class. Quinn did the same and then started going in the same direction as Rachel. Rachel's heart pounded in her chest, but then she remembered that she and Quinn had the same class next. She willed herself to calm down and to play it cool. Slowly, Quinn fell in stride with her so that they were walking side by side. She glanced at her and then down at the floor. Rachel acted like she didn't see anything. "You're not with him, are you?" Rachel's head snapped in Quinn's direction, confusion etched on her face. "I mean there's nothing wrong with it if you are, but… you're not with him, right?"

"Him who?" Rachel had to ask.

"Puck," Quinn said simply.

"Noah? No!" Rachel answered hastily, waving her hands out in front of her. "No, no, no, no, no. Noah and I are just friends," she clarified. "Best friends. We've known each other since forever. He's like the big brother that I've always wanted… kind of." Quinn laughed, sounding quite relieved.

"Oh, okay." She looked back down at the floor, and then after a moment she glanced back up at Rachel, right into her eyes. "I know that he's good guy, but I just think that you deserve someone better than… well, just better." Her eyes fell slightly, down to Rachel's lips or possibly even lower. "We should get to class." She hurried off with Rachel giving chase. They couldn't sit together as their teacher had assigned seating, but Quinn escorted Rachel to her chair before finding her own towards the front of the room. Rachel watched her leave and averted her eyes quickly when Quinn turned her head around as though sensing Rachel's eyes on her.

The two of them share more small interactions throughout the day, comprising mostly of hellos when they passed each other by. Rachel never did get a chance to ask if she'd be allowed to sit at the popular table again. Thoughts of that question just seemed to disappear whenever Quinn was around. But perhaps that was for the best; being timid wouldn't exactly help her impress Quinn. Although, Rachel did know what could help.

Practice that day started off with a bit of a low note. Somehow word had gotten around about Rachel's little 'incident' and Coach Beiste had gotten quite mad about the whole thing. She had given Finn a warning in front of the entire team, but she spared Rachel the embarrassment of telling everyone about what had happened. After he was done getting yelled at Rachel approached Finn. "It's okay," he said before she even got a word out. He put on his lopsided grin and they huddled up.

They started off with a few passing plays which gave Rachel little action. She waited patiently for her chance to show what she was made off. Eventually, Finn threw a pass her way. It flew over her head and almost out of reach, but Rachel managed to grab it. She didn't have her footing though and she started to fall forward. Rachel planted her feet and was able to steady herself but before she could run she was tackled to the ground.

The hit hurt, but Rachel held firmly onto the ball. From where she laid in the grass, Rachel could see the faintest of smiles on her coach's face. She blew her whistle and had them run the play again. Their second attempt gave a far better result with Rachel gaining seven yards after the catch before being forced out of bounds. Rachel missed her third catch, but she could tell that Coach was happy with her progress. The only question that was left was whether or not it would be enough.


	6. Chapter 6

It was Rachel's first game, and a home game. The crowd was roaring, or at least part of it was. The McKinley Titans were well known for being the worst team in the state, or at least they would be if people cared enough to learn about the worst team in the state. As such, it was quite understandable why Rachel's fellow schoolmates were pretty quiet. They all had reasons for coming; most were there to watch the Cheerios. Rachel was much the same during the past few years. Yes, she also attended games to support Noah, but she'd be lying if she that had paid attention to even half the game. Mostly she was distracted by Quinn.

But now things were different and Rachel's heart was racing. Her senses were on overdrive. It was a feeling similar to any of her big musical performances, but this was different because she was actually nervous. She looked calm, but she was shaking on the inside. It was do or die time, and she was really hoping that she wouldn't die. On the bright side though, if she did die, then at least she wouldn't have to face Quinn's rejection.

But that thought didn't actually make her feel any better.

She took a deep breath. The team captains for each team jogged out onto the field for the coin toss. Finn and Noah were two of them. Together they made a lucky guess and opted to receive. They came back to the sidelines and special teams took position. Rachel watched as the game started. The opposing team kicked the ball. It soared through the sky, landing in the hands of Mike Chang. He ran forward, his teammates trying to form a defensive wall around him as he advanced down the field.

They held off the opposing team as best they could and Mike managed to just get past the twenty yard line before being taken down. With the kickoff over it was now Rachel time to hit the field. She double checked to make sure that her helmet was strapped on tightly and started to head out. After a few steps though, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Quinn. "Hey," she said, waving a pom-pom at her. "Be careful out there, okay? It would make me sad to see you get hurt." Rachel only nodded.

The last time that she had gotten hurt was because she was distracted, by Quinn no less. There was a bit of irony in that, she supposed, but there was no time to think about that. She got into the huddle where Finn told her that they'd start off with a running play. She nodded her understanding and they got into formation. As Finn got set, Rachel scanned the defense. Some of them were bigger than what she was accustomed to during practice. Despite that, she would hold firm. As she took a breath she heard Finn utter those words. "Hut. Hut. Hike!"

In an instant he handed her the ball. Rachel darted to the left where the offensive line had managed to hold back the defenders. She went to the outside and gained eight yards before being tackled by one of the cornerbacks. She quickly got back up and they ran another running play. Once more she ran to the left, but instead of going outside opened a hole for her to get through. Rachel didn't get as far as she did initially, but she was able to get enough yardage to get the first down.

So far, so good. On their third play they continued to keep to the ground. Rachel gained five yards and she seemed to aggravate the opposing team. They blitzed the following play, fully expecting Finn to hand her the ball once more. That decision cost them dearly as left Mike wide open for a long pass that moved the Titans down close to the fifty yard line. Their next pass ended in failure though and once more they were counting on Rachel to help them get down the field. The Titans got into a shotgun formation to give off the impression that they were going for a pass. "Hut. Hut. Hike!" Rachel darted towards Finn immediately. He quickly placed the ball in her hands and she was off. Not a second later though, Rachel was on the ground.

The defender who tackled her got to his feet and yelled in her face. "Woo! Stay down!" Rachel considered doing just that but she couldn't. Noah came over and reached out a hand to help her up. He pulled her up to her feet and then checked to see if she was okay.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Fine," Rachel answered, although her ribs did hurt a little. Noah didn't look too convinced. He gave her a once over but decided not to argue with her. Regardless of whether she lying or not, they both knew that she wouldn't be doing much for the following play. At third and twelve there was no point in running the ball, and although Rachel's passing had improved she was far from their best receiver. Not to mention the fact that her small stature would make it far easier for the opposing team to intercept the ball from her.

Her role ended up being little more than a poor decoy in a play-action pass. They didn't fool anyone though, and the defense was more than ready. All the Titan receivers were well covered and Finn was forced to scramble out of the pocket. He wasn't much of a mobile quarterback though and the moment he saw an opportunity he went for it. Finn threw a deep pass to Noah. It flew a bit high and Noah needed to jump to reach it. He got his hands on it but before his feet could hit the floor a linebacker smashed into his side. The ball came loose and they were then on fourth down.

Rachel watched Noah groan as he got to his feet. He was upset, mad even. They would have been so close to the end zone, but now they had to punt the ball away. Rachel wanted to make him feel better, but she didn't know what she could have done. She didn't even know if there actually was something that she could have done. Special teams hit the field and kicked the ball deep into enemy territory. The punt returned called for a fair catch which left them at the twenty seven yard line. Unfortunately, their offense wasn't as passive.

They came in strong and hard. On the sidelines Rachel felt helpless as her team's defense was but trampled over. Try as they might all they could do was slow the opposing team down. Slowly the opposition was gaining yardage, getting closer and closer to the red zone. After a good dozen or so plays they within the twenty and threatening to make a touchdown. They ran straight down the middle. Their running back shoved his way through the defensive line and fought for as many yards as he could before being taken by a pair of Titans.

On second and two they scored the first touchdown of the game while also striking a blow to the Titans morale. They had been working hard since the school year had begun. Rachel knew that even before she had joined the team. With Noah as her best friend it was only natural that she'd watch them practice from time to time. Admittedly, she often watched Quinn more during those occasions but nonetheless Rachel was quite familiar with how the Titans practiced. But they had been different in the past few weeks. They were working harder. They were more determined.

Noah was more determined. He would never complain to Rachel about mad he would get about how they would always lose. Talking about feelings wasn't something that he typically did, but it clear to Rachel that he hated it. Noah had been on the team during each of the five years that he had been a student at McKinley. Don't ask how he managed to stay on the team after being held, even Rachel never figured that one out. Anyway, he had been on the team longer than the rest of the guys and thus he had faced more losses than the rest of the guys.

It hurt Rachel to see how upset he would get. She didn't exactly understand what the game meant to him, and she probably never would but she knew that it was important to him. She walked over to him while both teams got set for the kickoff. She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "We'll score this time," she told him, to which he simply nodded with a forced smile. Again, Mike got the ball and the results were more or less the same.

The offense hit the field and started once more with a running play. Rachel swerved away from defenders, thinking more about avoiding collisions as opposed to getting down the field. She had a good run and got out of bounds just short of getting a first down. Although she hadn't technically promised, she wanted to get that touchdown for Noah. She wanted to help him end his last season with a bang. Besides, helping him meant helping herself in trying to impress Quinn.

They ran again, and Rachel slipped in through the middle, just managing to gain the yardage they needed. Afterwards the Titans were for two downs but a long pass to Noah which got them fourteen yards and a first down. Their offensive options were pretty limited with Noah, Mike and Rachel being the only viable threats. Just short of the fifty yard line, the Titans went for a pass. Finn drew back and searched for an open receiver. He found Rachel. They made eye contact briefly. He hesitated, but defenders were closing in.

There was no other choice. Finn threw a bullet straight at her. Rachel jumped to get it, but the ball slipped right through her fingers. She groaned as her feet touched back onto the ground. She had been wide open, there wasn't a single person around, and yet she couldn't hold onto the ball. Rachel felt awful. She was able to make up for her failings in the following play with a good seven yard rush, but they were stopped on third down and thus had to punt the ball away again.

Rachel was angry. She was upset. Any bit of momentum that she or her team would get would fade as quickly as it was gained. After several more plays they were scored on again, but thankfully their defense was able to hold their opponents to just a field goal instead of another touchdown. At the end of the first quarter the score was ten to zero. It wasn't the worst of positions, but it was disheartening. They were able to score during the second quarter with a pass to Mike but they ended up giving up another field goal, and another one just before the end of the first half.

Needless to say, during halftime they sure needed a bit of a pep talk. Whatever Coach Beiste said though, Rachel didn't get to hear. Due to the odd circumstances, she was allowed entry to the boy's locker room while they had a game, but she didn't feel too comfortable with that idea. Coach told her that it was her decision. Maybe she had received some special treatment, which she shouldn't have, but no one complained. In all honestly, Rachel thought that some of the boys would have been uncomfortable with her in there as well.

Later on in the season she'd probably go in there, but for the time being she preferred being in the girl's locker room, although it was pretty lonely in there. But it was quiet too. "Rachel?" Or it was. Rachel got up from her seat. She knew that voice. It was Quinn. She headed over towards her. "Hey," she said once they found one another. "How are you?" Rachel put on a half-smile. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry though, you've been doing great." Perhaps she had, but Rachel had to do better if she was going to win the game, and then win Quinn's heart.

Rachel sighed and nodded. "I know."

"And you've kept your promise." That made Rachel smile, really smile.

"I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah." For a moment there was silence. "Well, I should get back out there."

"And I should too."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. Good luck to you too." Quinn looked at her with a confused expression on her face. "With your um… cheering… and uh, keeping the crowd… motivated." Quinn laughed.

"Um, sure. I'll try."

Clearly Rachel's mind wasn't thinking while she was speaking. She headed outside to start the third quarter. The Titans kicked the ball off, and after a painful looking drive they stopped their opponents at their forty two yard line. They were overconfident went for a long field goal which flew wide right. It wasn't much of a momentum changer, but Rachel was going to take whatever she could. She got back onto the field and was immediately handed the ball.

With some newfound energy, Rachel zoomed past the defense, juking left and right and gaining nearly twenty yards before being forced out of bounds. It was her best run of the night and with it the Titans were once more closing in on the red zone. They then went short pass to Noah and then another run which got them another first down and within field goal range, but Rachel wasn't going to settle for a field goal. The next chance she got, Rachel made a breakaway for the end zone.

She got some yardage, but soon after getting a first down Rachel was tackled, hard. She felt like her body had snapped in two. It hadn't though. "Woo!" She had heard that voice earlier. "Told you before, bitch! Stay down! This is a man's sport!" Rachel hadn't minded his taunts before, but it was personal. She got to her feet quickly. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do but before she could even think about it, Noah came rushing in. He got in between the two of them and shoved the guy away.

"What did you call her?! Huh?!" Rachel tried to hold him back, but she wasn't strong enough. A referee came in and broke them up. He probably should have thrown a flag, but he didn't. Rachel took Noah by the arm and led him away.

"Forget about him," she said. "He's not worth it."

Noah couldn't really argue; they were still in the middle of a game, but that didn't change the fact that he really wanted to hurt that guy. He could get like that sometime even though he was really a sweet guy deep down. It probably wouldn't have been smart to hand him the ball anytime soon while his emotions were getting the best of him, but as one of their few weapons they didn't have much choice. After a couple of unsuccessful plays, Finn threw a short pass to him. There was no way that they should have gotten the first down, but Noah fought for extra yardage, shoving his way through defenders and getting them close to the end zone.

The Titans scored soon after, narrowing the gap in the score to only a pair of field goals. One touchdown and they would have the lead. The next several minutes were a fight for the ball. Back and forth it went with neither team scoring a single point. The third quarter ended, and a good chunk of the forth passed by and still the score was the same. It was close, but the Titans were on defense and they were out of timeouts. Their opponents ran wasted a few precious minutes as they tried to run out the clock before they had to punt the ball.

With less than three minutes on the clock and no timeouts, things were looking grim. It was only made worse for Rachel as they couldn't risk a ground game. Play after play was a pass and with only two reliable receivers, they were easily being stopped. Rachel felt so helpless. There was nothing for her to do. After many failed passes and only a couple of completed ones they were just past the fifty yard line with only a few seconds left on the clock.

Their next play would possibly be their last. Coach Beiste set them up for a Hail Mary with Rachel as a receiver on the outside. "Hut." This was it. "Hut." It was win or lose. "Hike!" Rachel darted down the field, faster than any other player on the field. She was wide open, and closing in on the end zone. Rachel looked back. Noah was being guarded closely, and Mike had two guys on him. Neither of them was going to get the ball. And then she saw it flying right at her. She reached up and closed her eyes, too afraid that she would let everyone down. It was a stupid thing to do, but miraculously the ball fell into her hand perfectly.

Rachel had caught it. She couldn't believe it, and for a moment she was frozen in shock. Then she heard Coach Beiste yell at her to run and she saw the defenders rushing towards her. Rachel started to run. She ran as fast as she could, not daring to look back in case someone was catching up with her. She kept going and going and then she stopped. Rachel looked down at her feet. She had done it. She had score. She had won the game. They had won.


	7. Chapter 7

Victory was something that was not uncommon to Rachel. On the contrary, when to singing competitions she would often crush her opponents. She was always a very competitive person, and she loved winning. Needless to say she very much liked the outcome of her first football game. The students of McKinley High were on their feet; cheering for the Titans, cheering for her. And of course they were cheering for her; she did score the winning touchdown. All around her, her teammates were congratulating her.

She was quite glad that none of them decided to slap her on the butt. During her research, Rachel had learned of some odd ritual would do that to one another as a way of showing support, or something along those lines. She didn't know if football players actually did things like that, and she wasn't even going to consider asking Noah. Although if one of them did try to slap her butt, then would not be held responsible for her actions.

Luckily, no one tried anything of the sort. Rachel was free to celebrate as she wished. And there was only one thing that Rachel wished. She escaped from her team and made her way to where the Cheerios had been performing. Everyone had gone down from their seats in the bleachers so it was hard for her to tell if they were still there, but Rachel had to start somewhere. She squeezed her way through the crowd, receiving more compliments along the way.

For once in her life, she didn't care much for the attention; there would be plenty of chances to have people clamoring around her once she was a big Broadway star. Getting Quinn Fabray to become her girlfriend on the other hand was a once in a lifetime opportunity. After some effort she finally found some open space. The Cheerios were gone though. Rachel frowned, but then she felt a soft delicate hand wrap around her own and she smiled. It had to be Quinn. Rachel turned and beamed at her. "Hey, looking for me?" Quinn playfully asked. Rachel didn't answer; too embarrassed to admit that she had in fact been doing just that. Luckily, Quinn didn't wait for a response. "You were great out there!"

Rachel's cheeks reddened and she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Rachel always liked receiving compliments, but ones that came from Quinn were extra special. Quinn's words made her feel like there were butterflies fluttering about in her stomach. The fact that they were also holding hands didn't help Rachel in keeping her composure. "It-it was all thanks to you," she said, proud that her words hadn't come out completely jumbled. Quinn giggled.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "That was all you. You were amazing." Rachel's blush intensified. She was certain that her cheeks were a deeper shade of red than her jersey.

"Thanks," she squeaked out.

"You're welcome. Anyway, I was actually looking for you myself."

"You were?" Rachel asked while trying her best not to sound too surprised. She failed miserably.

"Yeah," Quinn laughed. "My parents aren't home tonight so I'm inviting everyone over to my place to celebrate, and I wanted to know if you needed a ride." Rachel's eyes widened. Unless she was mistaken, which was highly unlikely, she was being invited to a party. It took her a moment or two to process the information. "You are coming, right?" Quinn asked due to Rachel's silence. "You have to come. We wouldn't have won this game if not for our little star." Rachel's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Quinn had called her a star. "Come on. It'll be fun," she insisted. Rachel didn't need much convincing.

"O-okay," she agreed. "I'd love to come."

"Great! We'll leave in just a bit, I have to wait for Brittany and Santana first," she explained. "You can get changed while we wait for them." Rachel nodded and smiled even though she was a little upset to learn that she wouldn't be alone with Quinn during the trip to her house. As she left for the locker room, Rachel looked at the positives though and reasoned that the short drive would be a good time to get better acquainted with Quinn's friends. While their opinions weren't as important as Quinn's, getting their approval was essential. Brittany liked her well enough, but Santana was proving to be slightly problematic.

Rachel had gotten more comfortable with sitting at the popular table at lunch since Quinn had first invited her to eat there. Everyone was fairly welcoming except for Santana. It wasn't as though Santana disliked her or anything like that, but she did appear to enjoy antagonizing Rachel. Maybe this would prove to be Rachel's chance to change all that.

The locker room was fairly empty, thus giving Rachel some privacy. She got out of her football uniform and changed into her normal clothes. They weren't exactly party clothes, but it wasn't as though Rachel actually own any party clothes. She made sure she looked okay and then headed outside where Brittany and Santana were patiently waiting with Quinn. As expected, Brittany cheerfully greeted Rachel while Santana gave a half-hearted wave.

They left soon after with Brittany and Santana letting Rachel ride shotgun. She didn't argue. Rachel got into the car and buckled up. She checked the rear-view mirror to see if Santana and Brittany had done so as well and saw a sight which made her heart melt. There had never been any confirmation on it but it was commonly assumed that Santana and Brittany were together. Rachel didn't exactly have the best gaydar so she couldn't really tell herself, but seeing Brittany's fingers interlaced with Santana's made her believe they were in fact together.

The sight made Rachel happy. "What are you smiling about?" And just like that Santana went and ruined her mood. Rachel couldn't understand what Brittany saw in her, but she guessed that Santana must have had a sweet side deep down. Deep, deep down that is. Either that or Brittany had a thing for bad girls. Rachel briefly wondered what she would do if Quinn had a thing for bad girls. She'd probably have to dye her hair and get a whole new wardrobe. Such an action would probably be a bit extreme, but Rachel liked the idea of having blue stripe in her hair, that is of course as long as it washed out.

Once everyone was buckled in Quinn backed out of her parking spot. She turned the radio on and then Brittany spoke up. "You were really amazing today Rachel. And that catch at the end of the game; it was super cool." Rachel looked at her through the rear-view mirror and smiled.

"Thanks. I actually wasn't sure if I wasn't going to make that catch," Rachel admitted.

Santana laughed. "Me neither," she told her. "I was pretty sure that you were going to get smacked in the face again." Rachel shrank in her seat and Quinn glanced over at her before glaring at Santana through the rear-view mirror.

"Back off Santana, we're celebrating tonight." Quinn then turned her attention to Rachel. "Ignore her, she's always like this."

Santana scoffed. "I'm only being honest," she shrugged.

"Rachel did win the game though," Brittany pointed out, which Rachel appreciated as Santana promptly decided to leave the topic be. If their previous handholding hadn't already convinced Rachel that the two of them were together then Santana's behavior surely would have. There wasn't much more talk during the rest of the short ride.

Quinn's house was quite large. It wasn't exactly a mansion but it was big enough to show that whoever lived inside was pretty well off. Quinn exited the car and invited them inside before going around the place to gather things that were fragile. Everything she found she put into a closet and after that the four of them waited for everyone to arrive. It wasn't very long before they started to do so. They came by the dozens as cars lined up outside.

A few people brought some alcohol, something that Rachel had never touched before. As they came in Quinn put on some music. Slowly the house filled up. Everyone from school seemed to be there, which seemed highly unlikely as Quinn's house was nowhere near as big as McKinley High. Rachel tried to stay close to Quinn, but as the crowd thickened the two of them got separated.

There were so many people. They were all drinking or dancing and few couple were making out as well. But despite how much fun everyone was having they all took the time to acknowledge Rachel and congratulate her. They knew who she was. It was different from her experience at other parties. She had grown accustomed to being anonymous. And it wasn't as though Rachel didn't have fun when she was all but invisible. She'd dance, and occasionally people would hit on her. Rachel enjoyed being at parties, and this one was no exception.

It just felt weird for her, being on everyone's radar. Everyone was saying such nice things about her. She received so many compliments. It was almost as though Rachel had replaced Quinn as the most popular girl in school. It was almost suffocating, but it was thrilling all the same. She was having so much fun, but she wanted to find Quinn. She wanted to ask her to dance. Rachel politely made her way through the crown, occasionally asking people if they had seen Quinn. She was pointed in various directions, but she always seemed to be a little too late to catch Quinn.

Her search left Rachel frustrated and tired. Eventually, she passed by the stairs and decided to take a seat. She went up a few steps so she could get a better view of the party. There were a couple of blondes around, but none of them were Quinn. Rachel could tell. Someone then sat next to her. She quickly whipped head whipped around, hoping that it was her. It wasn't. Rachel frowned. "Good to see you too," Noah said with a laugh.

"No, I'm sorry," Rachel apologized. "It is good to see you. I was just hoping that you were…"

"Quinn?" Noah finished for her. Rachel nodded. "She just went into the kitchen."

"She did?"

"Yeah." Noah gave her a pat on the back. "Go get her!"

Rachel jumped to her feet and darted down the stairs. She rounded the corner into the dining room and continued on into the kitchen. She quickly scanned the area in search of Quinn. At first she found no sign of her, but eventually she found her as she got something to drink. Rachel hurried over, but then slowed down so she wouldn't appear to be over eager. She steadied her pace and as casually as possible closed the gap between her and Quinn.

She was unsure on whether or not she wanted to initiate conversation and so Rachel pretended not to notice Quinn while she considered her options. But her decision was made for her when Quinn saw her. "Hey," she waved. She took a sip of her drink and took a few steps forward so that there were only mere inches between them. "Having fun?"

"Lots."

"So you're glad you came?"

"Yeah, I am." It was her chance and suddenly Rachel was nervous. "Hey, do you… do you want to dance… with me?" Quinn let out soft laugh and then bit down on her lower lip as though she were giving her request some real thought.

"Sure." She took Rachel by the hand and escorted her to the living room. The music was loud and upbeat. The two of them found a spot and started to dance. They swayed to and fro. Rachel tried and failed to keep her hands off of Quinn. They were just so close to one another. It was hard not to place a hand on her waist, wrap an arm around her, or to just interlace their fingers. And Quinn didn't seem to mind.

They'd get a real dance one day, a romantic one. Rachel would make certain of that. But for the time being, she was content with where they were at. They stayed together like that for several more songs until they both tired. They left to find a place a little less crowded. It was getting pretty warm, which only made sense since the place was as packed as it was. Quinn tugged on Rachel hand and began leading her upstairs.

"Quinn, where are you taking me?"

"My room," Quinn answered. She showed Rachel where it was and let her inside. The room was simple and had a couple of bookshelves. There was a desk to one side with Quinn's laptop on it and upon Quinn's bed was a stuffed lamb. Rachel looked at it for a while. Quinn followed her line of sight and once she noticed what Rachel was looking at she darted for her bed and grabbed him before hiding him under her pillow. "You didn't see him."

"What's his name?"

"I said you didn't see him," Quinn insisted to which Rachel couldn't help but laugh. She didn't look too amused, but eventually Quinn laughed too. "His name's Lambchop."

"He's cute. Can I see him?" Quinn looked hesitant, but after a moment she took Lambchop out from under her pillow and handed him to Rachel. She took him gently and carefully cradled him in her arms. "He really is cute," she repeated.

"I've had him forever. I know it's kind of childish, but he was my best friend growing up."

"It's not," Rachel assured. "And if it makes you feel any better, I collect Care Bears."

"You do?!"

"Yeah."

Quinn shook her head in disbelief and took a seat. Rachel sat beside her. "You're really something, you know that?" Rachel looked at her, slightly confused. "You're just full of surprises. Just when I think I get you I learn something new that I would have never expected."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you joining the football team," Quinn explained. "You're like the smallest girl in school." Quinn looked as though she was trying not to laugh, but she did a little. "Aren't you scared?"

"A little." She was actually scared a lot, but she wouldn't tell that to Quinn.

"So why did you join?"

"Um…" Rachel hadn't expected a question like this. She could have lied, and she wondered if she should but she wanted to be honest with Quinn if only partially. "I uh… actually wanted to try to impress someone." Quinn smiled and then she laughed playfully. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just when a girl tries to impress a guy she usually joins the cheerleading squad and not the football team. And I'm pretty sure you'd look great in one of our uniforms; really show off your legs." Rachel blushed. Quinn thought she had nice legs.

"Well… the thing is um… I'm not trying to impress a guy."

"Oh… oh… I just… I just assumed and… I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's okay."

"Still, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." For a few seconds Quinn was quite. She was trying to process the new information, no doubt. "I take it that she's on the Cheerios?" It was kind of a given, but Rachel nodded anyway. "Is it me?"


	8. Chapter 8

It was a simple question with an equally simple answer; yes or no. The answer of course was yes. A single word; that was all that Rachel needed to say and Quinn would be all hers… maybe. Rachel hadn't expected this moment to come so soon, but her opportunity was right there. All she had to do was answer. "Um… well, I uh…"

"Oh my God, it is me, isn't it?" Rachel hugged Lambchop close as she gave a slight nod. She closed her eyes as she prepared for possible rejection. And then she felt the pads of Quinn's fingers upon her cheek, her thumb gently rubbing circles on it. "God, you really are cute." Rachel's eyes popped open just as she felt the bed dip. Quinn was closer to her than she was before. She licked her lips and leaned in. "May I?" she asked, to which Rachel could only whimper. Quinn took that as a yes and closed the distance between them.

Their lips collided and Rachel moaned. Her first kiss. It was everything she could have hoped for. The grip she had on Lambchop loosened, and he fell onto her lap. Quinn pulled back, her hand still stroking Rachel's cheek. "Wow," she squeaked out to which Quinn giggled. "That was… that was… wow." Rachel closed her eye and breathed out a sigh of relief. She couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. Just to be sure she pinched herself. "Ow!"

Quinn laughed before grabbing her arm to make sure that Rachel hadn't hurt herself. "What are you doing?" Rachel looked unharmed but Quinn kissed her arm regardless. "You're so silly." So it was real. Quinn had kissed her. She had initiated the kiss.

"So, you like me back?"

Once more Rachel had Quinn giggling. "Uh, yeah. I thought I was pretty obvious about that." She had been, kind of. Maybe if Rachel had better gaydar she would have seen Quinn's flirting for what it was instead of thinking that it was just her being nice. "I've liked you for a while Rachel, and that's kind of why Santana's been a bit of a bitch to you."

"What?"

"She knows how I feel," she explained. "And she's been telling me that you feel the same." Rachel was still confused and Quinn could tell. "She thought that if she instigated me enough that I'd make a move eventually." She absentmindedly played with her fingers. "I guess that I should have." She gently grabbed Rachel and went to lie down, pulling Rachel down with her, with Lambchop squeezed between them. He was stuck there for a bit before Quinn took him and placed him beside them. "Stay here with me, just for a bit. We can go back to the party later."

"That's fine with me."

The two of them just stayed there on the bed. There was nothing but the two of them, and Lambchop, who was happily watching them. Rachel didn't really mind his company, although she did wish that the two of them were completely alone. There weren't much words said. They simply cuddled with one for a while, the party going on below them all but forgotten. They could still hear it, and Rachel wished that Quinn's room was more like her own; soundproof walls would have been nice to have.

She nuzzled closer to girlfriend when a thought came to mind. Things had happened so fast that she didn't actually know where the two of them stood. Officially, Quinn wasn't her girlfriend. There was no immediate need to label things, but Rachel wanted some reassurance. She squeezed Quinn's arm as she called her name, "Quinn?" Quinn hummed her response, signally Rachel to continue. "Are we… are we together?" Quinn pulled back so she could get a better look at Rachel. She was smiling, so that was a good sign.

"Well, I wouldn't say that we're together yet," she laughed. "We haven't even been on a date yet, and I'd prefer if we went slowly." Rachel could understand that. She could appreciate it. It wasn't as though she wanted to rush things anyway. Letting their relationship develop at a nice steady pace was just perfect for her. "Besides, I've never actually been with anyone before."

"Huh?"

"I never had a girlfriend before," she admitted. "Or a boyfriend too I suppose, but since I'm gay I guess that doesn't really matter. I thought that would have been clear too." It hadn't, or at least not to Rachel. She sat in silence as she processed the information, and then a smile formed upon her face.

"So I'm your first?"

"Don't let it got to your head," Quinn playfully chastised as she laughed at Rachel's proud tone. "But yes, you're my first and I'm hoping that you'll be my first for other things too." She pulled Rachel in close, one hand resting on her lower back while cupped Rachel's cheek with the other. She leaned in and Rachel closed her eyes, hoping for a kiss. And a kiss she received, but only on her other cheek and not on her lips. Quinn apologized when she pulled back, "Sorry. Like I said, I want to go slow, so no kissing… at least for now." Rachel didn't really like the idea but she had waited years to kiss Quinn Fabray; a couple more days wouldn't kill her.

"Okay."

"Thanks." Again, Quinn kissed Rachel's cheek. She looked over Rachel's shoulder to check the time. "It's getting late. I should probably start kicking people out, so I can get you home." Rachel nodded slowly. The house was probably a mess so it would likely take a lot of work to fix it up before Quinn's parents got home. Rachel didn't want Quinn to get in trouble, but she also didn't want the two of them to get out of bed. They had to though.

The two of them got up and left Quinn's room. They started looking for Santana while also telling everyone that the party was over. Some people listened, but others didn't, and there were even others who were so wasted that couldn't even completely comprehend the fact that they were being kicked out. Everything got easier though once Rachel and Quinn found Santana. She was with Brittany at the time, and clearly she didn't like being interrupted.

But after giving the two of them a once over, Santana quickly got to work. She had everyone out of the house in no time. They filtered out in packs. Rachel was congratulated many more times, and Quinn beamed by her side. She was proud. Noah was one of the last to leave, Finn, Sam and Mike with him. He casually glanced at Rachel and took note of her close proximity to Quinn. Nothing had to be said. She nodded at him and he nodded back. She wouldn't need a ride from him. After they were gone Santana decided to make her exit as well. She grabbed Brittany by the hand and started taking her to the door.

"Hey, aren't you going to help me?"

"We should San." Santana let out a sigh. She clearly didn't want to be around anymore, but at the same time she wasn't about to do anything that might upset Brittany. Part of Rachel wanted them to leave so that she'd have more alone time with Quinn, but on the other hand there was a lot that needed cleaning up. Help would have been much appreciated. Santana spun around and started marching forward, but then she got this glint in her eye. She smiled wickedly and proceeded to whisper something in Brittany's ear. Brittany lit up and nodded eagerly before turning to smile at Quinn and Rachel's direction. After Santana was done Brittany leapt forward and engulfed the two of them in a giant hug. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks Britt."

"Yeah, thank you."

"We should really let them have some time alone. Right, Britt?"

"We should, shouldn't we?" The moment Brittany agreed Santana took hold of her hand once more and darted for the door.

"Wait!" Quinn tried to stop them, but she was too late. They were already out the door. She groaned and then turned to Rachel. "Let's get you home, okay? I'll fix this all up when I get back."

"No, Quinn. No."

"Rachel, you don't have to help."

"I know. I want to."

There was no point in arguing, Quinn figured that out. She couldn't exactly force Rachel into the car. She took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze, silently asking one last time if she was sure. Rachel nodded and Quinn hugged her before kissing her cheek. "Thanks. You're the best girlfriend, you know that?"

"Girlfriend, huh? What happened to going slow?"

"Oh, shut up."

Rachel wanted to tease Quinn more but they had a lot of work to get done. They split up and started on opposite ends of the room. They both moved as fast as they could as they got the place back to its original state. It took some time, but after a while every room was perfect and the two of them were worn out. To finish things off Quinn grabbed the stuff that she had hidden and put them back in their places. Once she was done with that she and Rachel collapsed on the couch, with Rachel's body draped over Quinn's. Rachel was tired, really tired. The game had worn her out enough, but after the party and the clean-up she could barely move.

She really wanted to just sleep over, but that probably would have been moving too fast. Besides, Rachel needed to get home before her dads' started to worry. She had sent them a text about the party before it had begun. They were well aware that she would be home late, and while they had never given her a set curfew, Rachel knew that neither of them liked the idea of their only daughter being out when it was dark.

But with Quinn lying below her, Rachel was content where she was. She cuddled close to Quinn and hummed contently. Quinn lazily drew circles on her back and kissed the top of her head. She let out a breath. "Rachel?" Rachel hummed in response. "Rachel we need to get you home?" Rachel groaned. "Come on Rachel. It's late. I want to spend more time with you too, but I need to get you home."

"No," Rachel whined.

"Please baby."

The term of endearment was Rachel's undoing. She pushed herself up off of Quinn so that she was hovering just inches above her. "Fine," she gave in. "But can we just stay here for a bit longer?" she pouted. She looked so cute. Rachel knew that she looked cute. She knew that Quinn wouldn't be able to deny her, and she was right.

"Fine, but only a bit longer." Rachel squealed happily and cuddled up close to Quinn once more. She felt Quinn's arms wrap around her, holding her tightly, as though she would never let go. Rachel was convinced that she wouldn't. Rachel felt good. She felt warm. She felt happy and… "I love you." The words seemed to surprise Quinn. She gasped.

"What did you say?"

"I love you."

For a moment, Quinn was quiet. Rachel was afraid that she had said something wrong. It was too soon, too fast. She looked at Quinn, ready to apologize, but she saw that she was smiling. "I love you too."

As promised, they left after a short time. The drive to Rachel's house was fairly silent. Rachel was sleepy. She needed her rest and Quinn insisted that she at least close her eyes during the short ride. They listened to some light music and Rachel sang alone while keeping her promise to rest her eyes. Before she knew it, Quinn was parking outside her house. Quinn got out of the car and opened the door for Rachel. She then escorted her to the door.

The lights inside were off so they could only assume that her dads' were asleep. Despite that, Rachel didn't feel comfortable kissing her 'kind of' girlfriend when they could possibly be spying on her. She just reminded herself that they were going slow and went in for a hug. Rachel whispered another, "I love you," and then said her goodbyes. She watched Quinn leave and once she was out of sight, Rachel went inside and up into her room. She collapsed into bed, a smile on her face. Rachel loved Quinn, and Quinn loved her back.


	9. Chapter 9

Normally, Rachel was the kind of person who would take chances. She didn't like the idea of looking back on her life and wondering, 'what if?' Despite that though, she didn't actually take that chance with Quinn when given the opportunity. She had gotten shy and scared, and even worse she had another chance; a chance to ask Quinn out. It would have been the perfect time expect for the small fact that she would have preferred to fully plan out her first date with Quinn.

Rachel had already gone through several scenarios of how their first date would go. She wanted everything to be perfect. That's what Quinn deserved and what she wanted. Well, she wanted the date part at least and Rachel could only guess that she'd want it to be perfect too. And so the moment Rachel got up she decided to call Quinn and properly ask her out. She had one teeny tiny problem though. Rachel didn't have Quinn's number.

They had spent a good amount of time together since that time that Quinn had taken care of her, but most of that time had taken place within school. Aside from the party, the only time that they had been together outside of McKinley was when Quinn had given Rachel a ride home. They weren't really close enough for Rachel to ask for her number, but now that they were kind of together it only seemed fair to have it now.

And there was one quick way she knew how to get it. She got her phone and scrolled down her contacts until she found the number she was looking for. Rachel sent out a call and waited. She heard a groan once it was answered. "Why are you calling me this early?" Noah complained.

"Good morning to you too Noah."

"What's so good about it?"

"Everything," Rachel answered cheerfully, to which Noah grumbled.

"Can you please not be so loud?"

"I'm not being loud. I mean, I know that loud sometimes but I'm not being loud right now and-"

"Rachel!" Noah interrupted. "Can you just get on with it?"

Under most circumstances Rachel would reprimand him, and give him a word or two about how it's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking but Rachel did call him for a reason and she was thankful that he had reminded her of the reason why. "Oh, yes. I was hoping that you could give me Quinn's number."

"What?"

"Quinn's number," Rachel repeated. "I need it so I can-"

"I heard you the first time," Noah interrupted again. "It's just; didn't you say it would be invasion of privacy or something if I gave her number to you?" Rachel was quite impressed that he had remembered that conversation, but even so she really needed Quinn's number.

"That was then and this is now," she said simply. "So can you give it to me?"

"Fine, just leave me alone." He lazily checked his contact list and after some pestering from Rachel he gave her Quinn's number before promptly hanging up and going back to sleep. Immediately Rachel called Quinn, smiling as waited for her to answer. She felt so giddy. Rachel had never asked anyone out before, nor had anyone ever asked her out before. It was exciting and the best part was that she already knew what Quinn's answer would be.

And maybe that took some of the fun out of it, but it also meant that she didn't have to worry about rejection. After a few rings Quinn picked up. "Hello?" she said groggily, but even so her voice sounded as angelic as usual.

"Good morning Quinn. It's me, Rachel. I got your number from Noah, I hope you don't mind."

"Rachel? What are you- What time is it?" she whined cutely.

"Um…" Rachel quickly checked her clock. "It's a quarter past six."

"Six?" Quinn groaned. "Rachel, it's really nice to hear from you but I'm sleepy."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I'll call back later."

"No," Quinn interrupted before Rachel could hang up. "I'm already awake. It's just I usually try to sleep in on Saturdays. Practice is always so hectic so it's nice to get some rest in when I can," she explained. "It's okay though. What did you call for?" Rachel probably should have expected as much, especially since Noah was still asleep when she had called him, but her excitement had gotten the best of her. She felt bad for waking Quinn, which in turn also made feel bad about waking Noah.

She still considered letting Quinn have her rest, but she wasting time thinking so she decided to go with her original plan. "Well, I was wondering if you're doing anything later… or tomorrow. I just wanted to ask you out… on a date… with me." That could have gone far more eloquently but Rachel had done it; she had asked Quinn out. Quinn giggled.

"That sounds nice."

"Is that a yes?" Again Quinn laughed.

"Yes, that's a yes. You have any particular plans for where you want to take me?"

No, Rachel didn't. She had to come up with something fast. "Well, I was thinking that uh…" Nervously, she started twirling her hair around her finger. She glanced out the window. The sun was bright, the sky clear. There was a light breeze. It looked like a nice day, a perfect day for a... "Picnic! I thought that a picnic would be nice."

"Okay, I like the sound of that. When should I come pick you up?"

"Oh, Quinn. You don't have to do that. I can pick you up. I'll just have to borrow my Daddy's or Papa's car."

"I want to," Quinn insisted.

"Are you sure?" Rachel didn't really want to make Quinn drive to her place, but she did need time to get ready. She'd have to shower and go through her daily routine and then after that she'd have to prepare some food and find the picnic basket and blanket.

"I am. So what time?"

"All right," Rachel resigned. "Around noon should be good."

"Noon it is. I'll see you in a couple of hours. Bye."

"Bye."

Rachel had plenty of time. She jumped out of bed and stretched a bit. Her body was a little sore, no doubt due to the hits she had taken during the game. She hadn't really felt the pain during the party, but that was most likely because she was having such a good time. She massaged her side and then went into her bathroom and quickly hopped into the shower. After that she went through her morning routine before heading to the kitchen to make something for her picnic with Quinn.

The fridge wasn't as stock as Rachel would have liked, but she had enough to work with. She could only hope that Quinn would like what she would end up making. Just to be on the safe side Rachel decided to bring along some strawberries and to bake some cookies for dessert. Rachel knew that Quinn would love them since everyone always did; everyone being Rachel's family as well as Noah and his family.

At some point her dads' woke up. Leroy came into the kitchen and found his daughter hard at work. "What's all this for sweetheart?" he asked, coming over to her and planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Looks good," he commented as she watched her prepare a salad.

"It's not for you Daddy."

"Oh, then who is it for?"

"A friend," Rachel answered vaguely. "Daddy, do you know where the picnic basket is?"

"I do. Why do you need it?"

"No reason. I just…"

"Does my little girl have a date?" Busted. There was no point in lying. Rachel was a superb actor, but her had those skills didn't work to well when it came to her dads. They knew her too well. Besides, the brief silence that came after his question was enough of an answer. Rachel could just imagine the smile on his face.

"Yes Daddy, I do."

Leroy wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. "Sweetheart, come to the kitchen! Our daughter has something to tell you!" He kissed the top of her head again. In no time Hiram was in the kitchen as well. "Go on pumpkin, tell him."

"I have a date," Rachel said shyly.

"That's great pumpkin." Hiram hugged her too. "So who's the lucky boy?"

"Or girl?" Leroy added.

"Or girl? What's his name, or her name?"

"Quinn… Quinn Fabray."

"Quinn Fabray?" Hiram stroked his chin as he thought. Obviously he remembered the name. "Isn't she the girl who gave you a ride home the other day?"

"Yes Papa, she is. And she's coming by later so I really need to get ready."

"Later you say?" Oh no. "You should invite her in. We'd love to meet the girl that's been able to steal our little girl's heart, wouldn't we?"

"I would."

"Um… okay."

"Great."

Yes, great indeed. Rachel loved her dads of course. They were the best dads that a girl could ever ask for. But they were bound to embarrass her, and possibly even smother Quinn and scare her away. That would be the worst way to start off a first date. Rachel tried not to think about it and concentrated on finishing up her salad. Her dads decided to leave her be for the time being. They already got what they wanted and they could see that she was busy.

It didn't take much longer for Rachel to finish, but even when she was Rachel decided to hide out in the kitchen until Quinn arrived. She didn't want to answer every question that her dads had thought of since they found out that she had a date. Hours later the doorbell rang and Rachel ran for it. "I'll get it!" she yelled. She darted for the front door but her dads got there first.

"You must be Quinn."

"Yes I am."

"I'm Hiram and this is my husband Leroy. It's a pleasure to meet you. Come on inside."

"Thank you. It's nice to meet both of you as well."

Hiram and Leroy brought Quinn into the living room and Rachel immediately followed. She had to make sure that they didn't do that might embarrass her; Rachel did a good enough job of that by herself. "Oh, here's our little girl. She's been the kitchen all morning long. You must be really important to her." Quinn smiled shyly, her cheeks reddening slightly. "We should get a picture of you two. Now come on pumpkin, go over and sit next to your lovely date."

Rachel could do nothing oblige their request. Her only hope was that they could make a quick getaway afterwards. She sat next to Quinn and her Daddy got up to get the camera. While he was gone her Papa picked up a book that was lying on the couch and walked over to two of them. "My husband and I were just looking over photo album," he said as he opened it up. Rachel could do nothing but watch on in horror as dozens of her baby pictures were laid out in front of them.

"Oh my God!" Quinn squealed. "Is that Rachel? She's so cute!"

"That's her all right; most beautiful baby girl that I've ever seen."

They flipped through a few pages before Leroy came back. He took a couple of pictures and once he was done Rachel decided to make a hasty exit. "We should really get going," she said as she took Quinn's hand. Her dads didn't argue, and before they could change their minds Rachel dragged Quinn to the kitchen where they grabbed the picnic basket before quickly exiting the house. Rachel was mortified, but she knew that things could have gone far worse.

"Your dads' seem nice," Quinn commented.

"They are."

"So where are you planning on us having this picnic?"

"There's this park nearby. It's a nice enough day so I thought we'd just walk if you don't mind."

"No, that sounds like a great idea." She briefly let go of Rachel's hand so she could interlace their fingers. "Lead the way." The park that Rachel mentioned was only a few blocks away. It was nice and well taken care of and even had a couple of picnic tables that could easily use. Rachel though preferred using the picnic blanket. After a short walk they were there and soon later they found a perfect spot that had a decent amount of shade.

Quinn set the blanket while Rachel started unpacking some of the food that she had prepared for their lunch. "I wasn't really sure what you'd like so I made a lot of different things, I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all." Quinn helped her unpack and once they were done she had a small frown on her face. "There's no meat here," she said simply.

"Um… no. I'm vegan and… oh. I messed up, didn't I?"

"No, no," Quinn assured. "No, you didn't. This all looks lovely, it does. I'm sorry, it's just I was kind of for a BLT, or that is to say that I was kind of hoping for some bacon. But this looks great Rachel, it really does."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now come one, let's eat."

Rachel didn't argue any further and as they ate she noticed that Quinn genuinely enjoyed the food that she had prepared. She especially loved the cookies. She stuffed her mouth with them. It was really cute to watch. Despite Quinn's rule, Rachel couldn't help herself. She just had to kiss her. Her lips tasted like snickerdoodle. Rachel licked her own as she pulled back. "I'm sorry. I know you said no kisses."

"It's okay. I didn't mind." Quinn kissed her back. "You still have any more cookies?"


	10. Chapter 10

Rachel's date with Quinn had gone perfectly, that is if you ignored certain mishaps and her fathers' attempts of embarrassing her. Aside from that everything went like a dream. Rachel couldn't help but smile for the rest of the weekend. It was a long wait and all she wanted was to see Quinn again and maybe plan a second date. Rachel had learned a lot from her first date with Quinn; her first date ever to be exact.

She had made a few mistakes like calling so early and not taking Quinn's food preferences into consideration but Rachel was determined to use what she had learned to be a better girlfriend, or at least she would once she actually attained the title of girlfriend. Until then she'd just have to take Quinn out on more date, and Rachel was more than okay with that.

On Monday morning when school started the first thing that Rachel did was look for Quinn. It wasn't a long search. Rachel found Quinn at her locker talking with Santana and Brittany. She couldn't see her face but it was clear that Quinn was still upset with the dirty trick that Santana had pulled to get out of cleaning up. Rachel understood perfect but at the same time she had enjoyed getting some alone time with Quinn. Part of actually wanted to thank Santana, but she wasn't going to.

Rachel slowly snuck up on them. Once she was directly behind Quinn, Rachel got up on her tippy-toes and wrapped her arms around Quinn's shoulders. The no kissing rule was still tentatively under effect so Rachel just kissed Quinn's cheek. "Good morning beautiful." Santana made a gagging gesture, one which Rachel took with stride. The way Rachel saw it Santana owed her, not because she skipped out on cleaning, but because Rachel could already feel Quinn calming down.

"Morning to you too." Quinn twisted her head to the side and gently pecked Rachel's cheek as well. Santana groaned her disgust but a pout from Brittany was all that was needed to cease her instigating. "Whipped," Quinn whispered to which Rachel giggled. Quinn laughed a moment later and it was obvious that Santana wanted to glare at them but she stopped herself from doing so. She linked arms with Brittany and went off to class, much to Rachel's delight.

Once more she had Quinn all to herself. She let of her and Quinn spun around. "So, I had a lot of fun the other day and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out again sometime… maybe this weekend?" She smiled hopefully.

"I'd love to." Rachel was about to squeal in triumph but Quinn continued on, "But I can't." Rachel pouted. "My sister is visiting this weekend," she explained. "I don't see her very often since she goes to school over in California so I'd really like to spend as much time with her as I can." Rachel nodded her understanding as she tried to put on a smile. She was happy for Quinn but she was still disappointed. "But… I'm free next weekend."

At that Rachel did squeal. "That'll be splendid."

"Great, I can't wait to see what you have planned for me." She kissed her on the cheek once more and then headed off to class.

It was probably for the best that Rachel would have to wait an extra week before her next date with Quinn. It would give her more time to plan as well as to heal. The game Friday night had left its mark, or two, or three. Her bruises looked worse than they actually were but they still hurt. It'd be nice to have them gone before her next date. That way it'd be easier to cuddle and Rachel would be able to show some skin if she wanted to. She probably wasn't going to, it was still too early in the relationship, but having the option would have been nice. Despite that, Rachel felt good about how everything was.

At lunch she sat down at the popular table once more, right next to Quinn. Apparently, word about their date had gotten around a bit. Some of the Cheerios were gossiping about it and the Titans were congratulating Rachel about it. Quinn seemed uncomfortable with all of it, but she took it with stride.

She held Rachel's hand under the table and talked with her friends as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Of course the topic continued to come up. It was kind of a big deal. Brittany in particular couldn't stop saying how cute she thought Quinn and Rachel were together. And perhaps the best part was that Santana could do nothing but agree with her. Rachel felt great; felt like nothing could bring her down.

Hours later though, Rachel would learn that she could in fact be taken down. It was during practice when Dave Karofsky tackled her. He was one of the bigger guys on the team but deep down Rachel could see that he was a big softie even if no one else could. Regardless, he could hit hard and Rachel knew that if she wanted her bruises to heal then she'd have to avoid getting hit by him.

Luckily they were on the same team. Rachel didn't want to think about how hard he'd tackle her if they weren't. Rachel took a moment to catch her breath and while doing so she looked over to the sidelines. She could see Quinn covering her eyes with her pompoms. The hit must have looked pretty bad. Dave reached out a hand and helped Rachel to her feet. "You okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"Fine," Rachel answered, but she looked anything but with the way she was massaging her side. If Dave was going to argue, Rachel would never know because at that moment Coach Beiste blew her whistle and had them get back into formation. They ran more play, some rushing and others passing. All the while, Rachel did her best to avoid the defense but they weren't making it easy. Their victory seemed to have given them a newfound sense confidence and motivation.

They were determined to make it all the way this season and that was good news for Rachel. Even if she was already on her way to making Quinn her girlfriend she still wanted to help out Noah in winning that championship. Of course, Rachel would have preferred it if her teammates saved their enthusiasm for the real game. It wasn't as easy as it was initially to avoid their hits, but despite that Rachel was still able to gain some good yardage and a couple of times she broke away to the end zone.

Though by the time practice was over Rachel was exhausted. Her body ached. She slipped away into the girl's locker room and decided to take a shower; something that she normally wouldn't do. Despite being confident in most things in her life Rachel was quite self-conscious about her body, but she needed something to soothe the pain away. Besides, she'd finished before the Cheerios were done with their own practice.

Rachel let herself soak and washed the grim away. Playing football could get pretty dirty, something that Rachel didn't like very much. She felt much better after her shower. Rachel would still need some rest though to fully heal. She dried herself off and out of instinct checked to see if she was still alone. She was. Rachel quickly got changed and was able to get her top on right before the Cheerios came in.

In no time, Quinn was by her side. "Hey, you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Rachel answered. She actually felt a lot better after her shower so she was being completely honest. But she probably would have said yes either way. Rachel didn't want to make Quinn worry and so she was really glad that Quinn hadn't come in earlier. If she had then she may have been able to see Rachel's bruises. "I'm great Quinn."

For a moment Quinn was quiet as she was deciding whether or not she believed Rachel. Eventually she concluded that she did and she gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Rachel winced in slight discomfort but she did her best to ensure that Quinn didn't notice. As far as Rachel could tell, Quinn didn't but she still looked concerned. "Hey, I was going to try and get even with Santana but if you want I can just forget about that and give you a ride home; make sure that you're okay."

Rachel wanted to take up her offer, but she couldn't. "Um… actually Noah's giving me a ride home." Since Noah was Rachel's best friend it was only natural that she told him about her date, and once he'd found he became determined to get her to give up the goods. He wanted to know every single dirty detail and Rachel had told him nothing because frankly there wasn't a dirty detail to talk about. And even if there was Rachel wasn't the kind of girl to kiss and tell. Of course it was hard for her to make such claims seeing as she had only just had her first kiss at the party.

"Okay. I'll call you later then."

"Sounds good." Rachel received another kiss on the cheek before she left. Noah was already waiting for her outside. He was grinning. "I'm not telling you anything," she informed him. Noah's smile faltered slightly but he wouldn't give up so easily. As they went to the parking lot he continued on with his pestering.

"Oh, come on Jew Babe." He wrapped an around her shoulders as he led her along. "You've always told me everything." Rachel couldn't deny that. "Just give me something; it's not every day that my best friend scores with the hottest girl in school." He paused for a moment and then as an afterthought he added, "Or maybe you are going to score with Quinn every day." Rachel punched him, but she had to admit that she liked that idea. Noah rubbed his arm and laughed. "So I'm right, aren't I?"

Rachel scoffed and turned her head to the side so she wouldn't have to look at his smug expression. "No, Noah you aren't and that is the last thing I am going to say about that." Rachel crossed her arms over her chest just to emphasize her point. It was a battle of wills and as long as she could hold out until she got home Rachel knew that Noah would back down.

Noah sighed. "You know you're going to tell me eventually, might as well just tell me now." Rachel held strong and kept her lips shut. Noah kept trying but he kept things honest. He didn't try putting Rachel on a guilt trip since he did put his neck on the line to get her on the football team in the first place, nor did he take a long route to her house so that he'd have more time to annoy her. Rachel was quite proud of him and in the end she decided to talk.

But not until the very, very end.

Once she was out of the car, Rachel turned to Noah before closing the door and said, "We kissed… a couple of times, and we're going to go out again!" She let out a squeal afterwards.

"That's my girl!" He leaned in close to her and gave her a big one-armed hug. "I'm happy for you Jew Babe, I really am. As crazy as your plan was, I guess it worked."

"Not yet," Rachel corrected, to which Noah raised a confused eyebrow. "The goal of the plan was to get Quinn to be my girlfriend," Rachel clarified, although that didn't seem to make anything clearer to him. If anything, he looked be even more befuddled.

"You're taking her out on a second date," he pointed out. "Doesn't that make her your girlfriend?" he asked. Rachel fought the urge to roll her eyes, but she did so anyway.

"A second date does not guarantee a steady relationship, Noah. But I suppose I shouldn't expect you to know something like that," she playfully teased. Noah placed a hand over his heart in feigned hurt. "I'm close, but I'm not there yet."

"So you're still going to stay on the team?"

"Yes, I am." And in fact Rachel was planning to stay on the team for the rest of the season regardless of her relationship status with Quinn. Preferably, Rachel would like be going steady with Quinn prior to the end of the season but either way Rachel wanted to continue helping Noah. After all, none of this would have been possible without him. She couldn't thank him enough.

"All right. Pick you up tomorrow?" It wasn't really much of a question.

"Good bye, Noah."

"See ya. Good luck on your date."


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh, that feels good," Rachel whimpered.

Quinn chuckled above her. "I would hope so," she all but husked into her ear.

Now before you get any bright ideas it should be noted that Rachel was simply getting a massage, and to be completely honest Rachel might have imagined the seductive tone of Quinn's voice.

Anyway as the fact was, despite never seeing Rachel's bruises, Quinn could guess that Rachel could use some relaxing. Rachel was still fully clothed but she didn't mind that at all. Skin on skin contact would probably be more effective but she wasn't confident enough to take her top off in front of Quinn. And of course she also didn't want Quinn to see her bruises.

Either way, Quinn's hands were magical. Even through a few layers of clothing, her touch eased all the pain away. Rachel could only imagine how much better it could be. Undoubtedly, it could be much better but Rachel was content with things as they were. She elicited happy sounds as Quinn continued to work on her back. "Oh, so good. I needed this Quinn. Thanks a lot."

"No problem. Maybe you can make it up to me later," Quinn proposed.

Rachel was more than up to that. "Anything in particular you have in mind?"

"I'll let you know," Quinn said before kissing the back of her head. "For now, just relax."

Rachel had no complaints. She really needed her rest. Her life had been busy enough prior to joining the football team, but since she had it was almost as though she didn't even have a moment to breathe. Rachel had something to do every second of every minute of every day. And the small amount of free time that she'd manage to find, Rachel typically tried to spend with Quinn.

It was imperative that they get together in the shortest time possible. As the fact was there was less than a year left before they'd be off to college. They had yet to talk anything about the future, or about where Quinn was applying to. Rachel's heart was already set on New York and NYADA. She could only hope that Quinn would be somewhere close by, like NYU. Either way, they would have to get prepared if their relationship were to last.

And while they stilled had the rest of the year to do so Rachel knew that all that time could pass by in an instant. Now that Rachel finally had Quinn, albeit not officially, she wasn't going to lose her. She would just have to find the right pace to solidify her place in Quinn's heart. Thus far Rachel felt like she had been doing an adequate job at doing just that, and so she decided not to change her routine.

The following day at school went quite well. The two of them walked each other to class, and as always at lunch they sat together. A couple of times they would eat in private but mostly they'd sit at the popular table but this time they went for the popular table. As they closed in everyone started waving and saying hi, except for that one brunette Cheerio who would always get really quiet whenever Rachel got near.

Rachel could guess the reason why, even if she didn't really believe it. But the fact that Quinn would always make sure to sit in between the two of them could only reinforce Rachel's assumption. Regardless, Rachel didn't have the time to really read into things. She already had a lot on her plate and she still needed to plan out her next date with Quinn. She was snapped out of her thoughts though when a number of her teammates decided to sit down.

They all greeted her and then started talking sports, a topic which Rachel knew very little about. Luckily, her participation in the conversation wasn't necessary. They excitedly discussed these great plays that they had seen college and pro teams perform. Apparently, one reminded Mike of a move Rachel had done the day before during practice. From there everyone started giving her praise for slipping through four defenders before leaping over a fifth as he tried to take her to the ground.

Rachel blushed. Her body had practically been moving on auto-pilot at the time. She was tired and the only thought on her mind was not to get hit. She modestly turned away and shrank a little in her seat. As she did so, Rachel couldn't help but notice that Quinn didn't look too happy. She quickly put on a smile though and before Rachel could ask if something was wrong she was given a big pat on the back by Finn which nearly sent flying face first into her food. "Still can't believe how stupid you made Dave look," he exclaimed.

Understandably, Dave looked offended. Beside him Mike laughed. "I can." He wrapped an arm around Dave's shoulders. "This big lug looks dumb enough to begin with." With that comment all the guys and a couple of the Cheerios started to laugh, and after a moment or two Dave did as well. It was all good natured humor after all. Rachel let out a laugh as well as she rubbed her back. Thankfully she didn't have any bruises there or else that seemingly lit pat would have really hurt, and later on Rachel would have to have a really angry conversation with Finn.

"Hey, be more careful," Quinn told Finn, taking hold of Rachel's hand and replacing it with her own. She rubbed the spot gently as she glared at the quarterback. He back away slightly. Quinn then brought her attention back to Rachel. "Did that hurt?" she asked sweetly.

"No," Rachel shook her head, answering honestly. "I just didn't expect it is all. I'm fine."

Quinn left the topic at that but she glared at Finn once more before she resumed eating. The guys were laughing again, this time at Finn. It was embarrassing for him to get intimidated by Quinn but the fact was that any guy at the table would have been intimidated too. Finn seemed to know that because after initially getting all mad he shrugged off everyone's laughter.

Rachel scooted closer to Quinn in an attempt to avoid any further issues with the boys. Before long they continued on with their previous conversation. Rachel could only hope that she wouldn't be brought into it once more. But much to Rachel's disappointment, the Cheerios soon got into a discussion that revolved around her too. "You two are really cute together, you know that?" a brunette Cheerio said.

"Totally," Brittany chirped in. "Right, San?"

"Yeah, sure Britt," Santana begrudgingly agreed. Several others chimed in as well.

"I wish I was as lucky as you two." The brunette looked past Quinn directly at Rachel. She then nervously cleared her throat and turned away. "So um… I guess you'll be going to homecoming together?" she asked, not looking either one of them in the eye as she picked at her clothes. "It'd be really cool if we could have two Homecoming Queens instead of a King and Queen."

"Well uh…" Rachel was stumped. She had almost forgotten about Homecoming all together. Rachel had never gone before; she never had a reason to. But now that she was reminded, Rachel realized that it was excuse (not that Rachel needed one) to ask Quinn out again. Despite that, she wasn't sure how to answer. She was at a loss for words. Quinn wasn't though.

"Rachel actually hasn't asked me yet." Immediately Quinn turned her attention to Rachel, as did everyone else at the table. Not since the football game had Rachel felt so many eyes on her. But unlike the game there was no need to feel nervous because all she had to do was ask one simple question. And Rachel already knew what the answer was going to be.

Somehow though, the words were still hard for her to get out. "Um…" she cleared her throat. "Quinn, would you like to go to Homecoming? With me I mean?" Rachel heard a few giggles. She couldn't believe that she had actually messed that up. Quinn laughed as well. She didn't answer immediately, making it seem like she was actually thinking it over.

For a moment Rachel actually wondered if Quinn was actually going to say no. But she didn't. "Okay," she answered, cupping Rachel's cheek as she planted a kiss on the other one. "But only because you're cute." Her cheeks reddened so she tried her best to cover up her face. "Still getting all shy on me, huh?" She drew circles on Rachel's cheek with her thumb and then got up from her seat. "I'll be right back," she said. "Just have to freshen up a bit."

She left without another word. Rachel brought her attention to her food which she had barely touched. She was taking a bite of her salad when the girl beside her spoke. Rachel couldn't quite hear what she had said so she tried to ask her to repeat her words, but since her mouth was full it all came out garbled. The brunette, Gabrielle, laughed. Rachel would have too, but her mouth was still full of salad. Rachel chewed it up and swallowed it down.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing," Gabrielle shook her head. "It was a stupid question," she explain, her voice steadily dropping in volume so it became harder and harder to hear her. "It's actually better that you didn't hear it." Rachel couldn't help but notice that the girl was fidgeting and picking at her Cheerios uniform. "Just forget about it, okay?"

"No, it's okay," Rachel insisted, for reasons that she didn't quite know. "You can ask."

"Um… all right." She still seemed reluctant. "I was just curious about something, and uh…" She paused and started surveying the area. She looking to be checking if anyone was eavesdropping, which no one seemed to be but they were all still within earshot. And apparently because of that she decided not to speak any further. "You know what, never mind."

"We can talk some other time if you want," Rachel offered, with a shrug of her shoulders. For a moment Gabrielle seemed to be pondering her options, weighing the pros and cons in her head. After a while she nodded her head in agreement before turning back to her food. Rachel made a mental note to seek her out later in the day after practice ended. Quinn returned sometime after and escorted Rachel to her next class once lunch was over.

Football practice later that afternoon went by as well as Rachel could have hoped. She didn't take too many big hits and for the most part was able to gain good yardage on her runs. Coach Beiste still pushed them to do better though, and the reason for why was clear. With Homecoming just around the corner Rachel realized that the Homecoming Game was closing in on them too. Since Rachel was actually attending Homecoming this year she had to assure that they won that game.

Nothing could take the fun out of Homecoming more than losing the Homecoming Game. And thinking of such made Rachel realize something else too; she needed a dress, something special. She also had to wonder what Quinn would wear. Most of the time Rachel only saw Quinn in her Cheerios uniform or, if they were outside of school, she'd wear a simple top and some jeans or maybe a babydoll dress. There was no doubt that she'd look beautiful though. Rachel felt so lucky.

Once practice was over she went over to the sidelines where Cheerios were just about ready to finish up as well. Rachel took off her helmet as she watched Quinn tell her squad head into the locker room. They looked exhausted but none of them dared complain. Rachel walked up behind her. "Hey."

Quinn turned to her and smiled. "Hey yourself. You looked good out there."

"Thanks, just trying my best."

"You sure can sure show these boys how to play this game, huh?" Rachel had to laugh, especially considering the fact that up until a few weeks ago she didn't know how to play the game herself. Quinn wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started leading her to the locker room. "Why don't we get changed and cleaned up so I can take you home?"

As they walked inside Rachel catch a glimpse of Gabrielle. Since Quinn was bound to take a shower, Rachel decided to change quickly so that she have that talk with the shorter brunette before getting a ride home. After getting back into her normal and comfortable clothes Rachel waited outside the locker room for a few minutes until Gabrielle popped her head out. Rachel smiled at her and waved.

Gabrielle smiled back and tentative walked towards her. "Hey," she greeted, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

"So what did you want to ask?"

"Oh… well uh… what I wanted to ask you about was… well, how do you know… I mean, how can you tell if, you know… if you're gay?" Suddenly her eyes fell to the floor. She peeked up at Rachel for a second before letting her eyes fall back down to her sneakers. "I don't mean to bother you with this, but you're the only one that I'm comfortable talking to about it. Santana scares me and I don't think that Brittany would be able to give me the best answer, and if I were to talk to her at all I'd be afraid of what Santana would do to me. I guess I could ask Quinn, but that would be kind of awkward and…" she was rambling, making wild gestures with her hands as she did so.

She looked ready to hyperventilate so Rachel took a hold of her wrists to halt her movements. "Calm down," she told her. "Calm down. It's okay." Gabrielle nodded and after a few deep breaths she did as she had been instructed. "Better?"

"Much."

"So you think you're gay?"

"Yeah… oh, it feels so good to say that aloud."

"But you're not sure?"

"No, I mean I guess not. How do you know?"

"That's not really an easy question to answer," Rachel told her honestly. "For me I suppose it's because I've never found myself attracted to boys. If I'm being honest I guess I could even go as far as saying that I've only ever really been attracted to Quinn." Gabrielle let out a gasp of disbelief.

"Really?"

Rachel shrugged. "Kind of. I've found other girls to be cute or maybe even hot but with Quinn it's different. It's hard to explain."

"No need. I think I get it."

"Sorry I can't be of more help," Rachel apologized weakly. She felt pretty bad.

"Don't worry, you helped a lot."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Quinn asked as she snuck up behind Rachel and wrapped the tiny girl in her arms. She kissed Rachel on the cheek and then stared directly and Gabrielle.

"Nothing. Um, I should go. See you later." And with that she was off.

Quinn let out a sound of content and began escorting Rachel to the parking lot. Perhaps it was her ego talking but there was something that Rachel just had to know. She didn't really want to ask it and risk sounding silly, but neither did she want to risk Quinn getting the wrong idea. Before they reached Quinn's car Rachel spoke up. "You weren't jealous back there, were you?"

"Jealous? About what?" Quinn feigned ignorance.

"About Gabrielle?"

"No… Maybe… Kind of… I guess," she pouted. "I know I don't have the right to since we're not going steady yet but I kind of like the idea of having you all to myself."

"Well, maybe we should just agree to go steady then?" Rachel proposed with a laugh.

"Maybe after Homecoming. Sorry, if I'm a little old fashioned, but I don't like the idea of going steady after only one date," she explained, giving Rachel an apologetic smile.

"Well, if you want you can apologize with a kiss." Rachel put on a cute face and Quinn giggled. She couldn't resist and kissed Rachel on the lips. She pulled back and cupped her face for a moment. For a while Quinn just stared at her, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Let's get you home, okay?"


	12. Chapter 12

Rachel could hear the cheering of the crowd as she exited the locker room. Maybe it was her imagination but she it sounded as though her name was being yelled among the roars. But it wouldn't have been the weirdest thing ever if they were calling out her name. In such a short time she had gone from being more or less invisible to being the star of the football team. She met up with her team and they marched out onto the field. It didn't take long for them to realize that things were different.

There had always been a large variety of Titan fans. Of course that it was kind of hard to really call them fans. There were those who were loyal and really believed that the Titans could make the playoffs. They would often been seen as delusional but they would never give up on their team. And then there were the girls who only attended the games to see their favorite players. Rachel would have more or less fit into that group except for that fact that she came to games to see Quinn and to support Noah as well.

Similarly there were also a few guys who showed only showed up to support their friends. Some of the actually cared about the game and some didn't, but their main objective was typically to cheer their friends up after a humiliating loss. And aside from them there were the hecklers. Rachel had seen them in action plenty of times. On more than one occasion she had given them a piece of her mind. They were jerks, every single one of them.

For one reason or another they weren't around during the Titan's first game of the season but they were back and in full force. Rachel could see them lounging, not a care in the world, just waiting for a mistake so they could start with their insults. Rachel would never understand why they would even waste their time, but she herself wouldn't waste time on them. Their second game surely wouldn't be one of their easiest, and after only one close win it would be dreadful for morale if they lost.

The coin toss resulted in the Titans having to kickoff. They kicked the ball deep inside the twenty yard line and held off the kick returner to just short of the twenty five. Their opponents started out with a running play which was quickly stopped by Dave. He seemed to move faster than he usually did. Apparently all that practice had paid off. On the next play he managed to get through the defensive line to put some pressure on the quarterback.

With a big guy like Dave closing in on him, he was forced to make a bad pass. Unfortunately, the skill of their receivers made up for the sloppy throw. They gained eight yards, and a run through the middle at third and two was enough to get them the first down as well as a few extra yards. Their next set of downs progressed in a similar fashion. Slowly but surely they were making their way down the field. There was no need for big, flashy plays. All they were going was gaining small chunks of yardage; a simple yet effective plan.

Not five minutes into the game they were already in the red zone and threatening to score. It was nerve-wreaking for Rachel to watch, as well as a bit intimidating. They were good, better than she had anticipated and she had only seen their offense in action. Their star player was actually on defense; a corner known best for his ability to deflect passes and to intercept the ball as well as being a bit of a ladies' man, not that the latter mattered at all to Rachel. It was simply what she had heard.

Despite how hard they fought the Titans ended up giving up a touchdown. Special teams hit the field. They got as far as the twenty and from there Rachel and the offense would have to even things up again. On her first run Rachel gained seven yards before being forced out of bounds. On her second run she gained an additional six yards which was more than enough to get them the first down. After that they ran a couple of passes to help mix things up but Finn couldn't connect, and on third and ten the Titans fell back on Rachel to keep their drive alive.

It was risky but with some good blocking Rachel was able to squeeze in just the amount of yardage they needed. They kept to the ground but a well called blitz effectively stopped Rachel's attempts at moving the chains. Good coverage on second down forced Finn to go a short pass, and on third he needed to get out of the pocket and run for the first down himself. He was able to make it, but the defense wasn't making it easy.

Another pass attempt resulted in a sack and a loss of some yards. With fifteen yards to go and only two downs before they would be forced to punt the ball away the Titans had little choice but to keep trying to advance the ball through the air. Their next pass resulted in an incomplete, and the one after that only gained twelve yards which wasn't enough to get the first down. Once more Rachel had to sit on the bench while special teams took over.

They kicked the ball deep inside the ten but a good punt return got the Cobras good field position at their own forty two yard line. They had the momentum on their side and they weren't letting up. Just as they had with their first drive they steadily made progress down the field. Five yards here, seven there; they were taking their time, keeping the Titan defense on the field and wearing them out. Things were looking bad.

But a bad call had their running back collide straight into Azimio. On the next play he and Dave put some pressure on the quarterback. He searched for his best option but in the end the pass came up as an incomplete. At fourth and seven the Cobras went for a field goal extending their lead by another three points.

On the Titans second procession they pushed the field. They were down by ten and if they had any hope of winning the game they needed to get on the board before the Cobras scored again. But the Cobras had already seen their secret weapon at work and they were doing everything they could to shut Rachel down and they were doing a pretty good job.

They knew that she wouldn't go through the middle so they had their linebackers go to the outside so that they'd be ready to stop her before she could break away. Every so often they'd blitz as well. Coach Beiste deemed it too dangerous to put Rachel in that kind of harm. She was banking on the hope that the threat of Rachel getting a big run would be enough to open up the passing game but nothing was ever that easy.

With only two receivers that posed any real threat, it was easy for the Cobra defense to keep them covered. The Titans would have to go with a slow and steady approach as well, but they didn't have the luxury of time. By the end of the first quarter the score was still ten to zero with the Titans only at the thirty four. They ended up wasting a couple of minutes of the second quarter to get their first touchdown. And while it may not have seemed very important at the time, the Titans needed each one of those minutes. The Cobras were able to score once more and halted the first half long enough to run out the time.

The Titans would be getting the ball back, but they were feeling particularly good about the state of the game. Rachel felt especially useless. Apart from the yards she had gained early in the game she had done little to nothing to contribute to her team's efforts. She sat back down on the bench with an anguished sigh. A few moments later she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Rachel took off her helmet and looked over to see who it was. "Quinn?"

"Hey, come on. Smile," she requested. "The game's still close. You have a lot of time," she assured. Rachel tried to think optimistically like she normally would, but then she decided to break eye contact and check the field for a moment. They were being run over. Quinn followed her line of sight. When Rachel turned her head back the expression on Quinn's face was grim. But then there was a glint in her eye and her lips curved into a smile.

"Quinn, what are you-" Rachel was unable to finish her question because Quinn ran off to gather the Cheerios. She huddled them together and started giving out instructions. Rachel was curious about what she was doing but she had her own team to worry about. She brought her attention back to the game. Maybe if she knew more about football she'd be able to find a weak spot in the Cobra defense or even make a suggestion or two for her own defense.

But no, as it was there was nothing she could do except act as a potential threat.

Rachel didn't want to give up. She didn't want to just give the Cobras the win, but with each passing minute they continued to make their way down the field. The Titan defense was exhausted. The rest they had during halftime wasn't even close to enough for them to get their strength back. But then Rachel heard it. "Defense! Defense! Defense!" She got to her feet and turned around. "Defense! Defense! Defense!" The crowd was on their feet and the Cheerios were rallying them on.

The Cobra offense looked surprised, as did the Titan defense. The Cobra quarterback tried to issue out commands to get his team to focus but the deafening cry of 'Defense' seemed to interfere with his orders. The play clock was running down so he had the ball snapped without waiting for his teammates to get into position. A few seconds later he was on his back. The crowd cheered along with the Titans who were watching from the sidelines.

"Defense! Defense!" Rachel glanced over at the Cheerios. Her eyes met Quinn's and she smiled at her. "Defense! Defense!" With the crowd rallying them on, the Titans were able to put an end to the Cobra offensive and gain a huge momentum shift. By the end of the third quarter they had managed to score another touchdown shortening the Cobra lead to a mere field goal.

Rachel started the fourth quarter on the bench with the cry of 'Defense' starting up once more. The Titan defense was tired but the Cobra offense was in disarray. They couldn't hear one another over the roar of the crowd. They wasted precious time getting set up and had to prematurely use up two of their timeouts. From what Rachel could tell, it looked like there were internal issues. They were arguing; blaming each other for letting the game get as close as it was. Needless to say all that fighting didn't help them get another touchdown. With a good chunk of time left over they punted the ball.

The Titans received it and made it down to the thirty four yard line. And with that Rachel hit the field once more. They started with a run, gaining only two yards. Afterwards, even though it wouldn't seem like the brightest move Finn handed the ball to Rachel again. She brain told her to move to the outside, as the play was written, but her body went through middle instead. Using her small size to her advantage, she slipped under the defenders. The Cobras were completely taken off guard and only the middle linebacker was close enough to stop her.

He lunged at her but a timely intervention by Noah allowed Rachel to gain some more yards before being taken down by a corner. Even as Rachel hit the ground she was smiling. They were going to win, she knew it. She didn't quite know why she had done what she had but her move paid off, and in a big way. The seemingly impenetrable wall of the Cobra defense was crumbling.

But they were still much more rested than the Titan defense so the game was far from over. For the rest of the quarter the game kept going back and forth with neither team getting close enough to the end zone to score. It was discouraging, having to see the clock run down while they were still down but the Titans didn't falter in their resolve. They pushed through, and with less than two minutes left in the game and only timeout, they started what was likely to be their final drive from the twenty two yard line.

Every yard they gained was a fight, and with the clock ticking down the Titans couldn't go with a ground game. It made them predictable and thus the Cobras were able to stop them just past the forty yard line. A field goal would tie the game up and force it into overtime, but their kicker was no good, not at that distance. They had to go for forth down. Victory or defeat; it would all be decided at that moment.

Finn called for the snap. He dropped back. One of the linebackers shoved through his offensive line. He had to think quickly. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning the field and searching for the open man. He tossed the ball up. Rachel leapt up. The ball fell right in her hands. She started to run. She was going to make it. But then she felt it. Someone had come up from behind her; someone had caught up with her. He tackled her hard, knocking the ball loose in the process.

"No!" Rachel cried. It was over. They lost. She could feel the defender pushing himself up to his feet. He went for the ball. Rachel chased after him. It rolled away. He was getting close. She couldn't get there in time. He reached for it, but suddenly someone else snagged it away before he could. Both he and Rachel were shocked. It was Mike. The defender chased after him but Rachel got in the way as she cheered Mike on.

Mike darted down the field, creating a huge gap between himself the Cobras before scoring a touchdown. For the first time in the game the Titans had the lead. There was still time on the clock, but not nearly enough. The Cobras didn't even get to the fifty before the game ended. The Titans celebrated their hard fought victory. After which, Rachel went to search for Quinn. It didn't take long to find her. She waved her hand and Quinn responded in kind. Quinn ran up to Rachel as she took off her helmet. "You did great out there."

"No, I didn't," Rachel laughed. "I…" Rachel's words got stuck in her throat as she saw the defender who had tackled her approaching them. She didn't realize it during the game, but she knew him. "J-Jesse?"

"Hi Rachel," Jesse greeted. "Quinn."

"You know each other?" Rachel and Quinn asked each other at the same time.

Jesse laughed. "You don't know, Rachel here is my biggest fan," he stated to which Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I am not," Rachel huffed. "Jesse and I have met at various competitions as well as some classes," she corrected. Rachel would never give Jesse the honor of being named her nemesis, but if anyone were to be given that title it would most likely be him. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"Our parents are good friends," Quinn explained.

"Yeah. My dad's still upset that you decided not to attend Carmel," Jesse added. "Well, anyway. I just wanted to congratulate you on your win. Enjoy it while you can because next time we're not going to hold back." Rachel was used to his attempts at intimidation. They wouldn't work on her, even if her record against him wasn't exactly favorable. He left without another word, a smug smile on his face.

"He can be such a douche." A laugh escaped Rachel's lips. "What? I'm just telling the truth." Quinn then wrapped an arm around Rachel and kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, let's get you home okay?"


	13. Chapter 13

Noah got no further than one step into Rachel's house before she punched him on the arm. "Ow! What was that for?" She had caught him off guard and for once not only did her punch hurt, but he also had no idea why she had decided to hit him. She looked like she was going to punch him again and Noah flinched in response. Rachel froze in mid punch and she shook her head. She spun on heel and marched into the living room. "Are you going to tell me what that was for?" Noah asked despite the risks involved.

Rachel spun back towards him, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so. "Why didn't you tell me that Jesse was on the football team?" she asked angrily. "And don't tell me you didn't know. You had to have known. You did, didn't you?"

"Um… yeah. I did."

"So why didn't you tell me?" Rachel asked again.

"Cause I knew you'd freak out," Noah whispered, for fear of Rachel's wrath.

"What was that?" Rachel asked, raising her voice.

"Nothing, just forget about it. We won." He plastered on a smile, hoping that Rachel would just let it go. Rachel stared at him for a moment and then sighed in resignation.

"I suppose you're right." The game did end quite well. "That guy just makes me so mad. He thinks that he's so much better than me at everything, and he's not." She forcefully plopped down onto the couch, still quite upset about the whole thing. Noah silently sat down next to her. He never really knew what to do in situations that involved Jesse. Typically he'd respond with an offer to beat him up but Rachel would never resort to violence like that.

But with violence in mind Noah thought up something else. "What to come over to my place and play some Call of Duty?"

An hour or so later the two of them were in Noah's living room. His Xbox was attached to the moderately sized TV, with the screen split in half. Rachel wasn't a serious gamer but she enjoyed playing video games. Mostly she'd play more casual games; things that were rated 'E for Everyone' but that didn't mean that she didn't know what she was doing. Like with everything else in her life Rachel could take video games very seriously.

Sometimes it was even scary to watch her. And at that moment, as he watched Rachel get a collateral with her sniper rifle, Noah did feel afraid. "Yeah! Fuck you!" She switch to her sidearm and ran over to collect their dog tags. "Hey, get away from those!" Rachel took aim, killing two more enemies with a few precise shots to their chests. Over his headset, Noah could hear other players talking.

"Who the hell is the crazy chick that keeps yelling?"

"I don't know, but whoever she is I'm glad she's on my team. She's scary."

Rachel was too involved in the game to pay attention to what they were saying. All she could focus on was killing everyone on the opposing team. Noah decided to kick back and enjoy the show. One by one, Rachel took down each enemy she found, yelling profanities as she did so. It was only ever through gaming that Rachel wouldn't watch her language. It was quite an amusing scene to watch.

_Elsewhere…_

"You are so lucky that I'm a nice sister," Quinn told Frannie as she lugged her bags upstairs and into her old room. It wasn't too bad honestly, especially since Quinn was in such good shape but that didn't meant that she liked carrying her sister's things for her. Frannie simply smiled at her.

"I am, aren't I? You can just throw that in the closet," she told Quinn as she jumped onto her old bed. Once Quinn had done what was instructed of her Frannie beckoned her sister over, pulling her into a hug and onto the bed once she got close enough. "Damn, it's been so long since I've seen you. So tell me, what's in your life."

"Nothing much," Quinn shrugged. "Same old."

Frannie raised an eyebrow in question, a habit which Quinn had picked up. "Really?" she asked skeptically. "What, you don't have a boyfriend yet? Oh wait, my mistake; you don't have a girlfriend yet?" Quinn's eyes fell to the floor. Frannie's own eyes grew wide. "Holy shit. You do have a girlfriend, don't you?" Immediately Quinn covered up her sister's mouth with her hands.

"Shh, not so loud." She carefully removed her hands from her sister's mouth.

"Oh my God," Frannie whispered. "What's her name? What's she look like? Tell me everything. Do you have pictures? Tell me you have pictures. You have to have pictures." Frannie wasn't exactly the most patient person, but that was something that Quinn had gotten used to.

"Her name's Rachel," she told her. "And she's not really my girlfriend yet."

"Yet?"

"We've only been out one date so far," Quinn explained. "I really like her but I don't rush into things." Frannie nodded her understanding and then made a gesture for Quinn to continue. "I do have some pictures. She pulled out her phone and opened one up. "That's her," she told Frannie as she handed over her phone.

"Cute. Why's she in a football uniform?"

"Cause she's on the team," Quinn answered in a somewhat confused tone.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm. That's interesting."

"What is?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing," Frannie tried to push the topic aside.

"What is it Frannie?" Quinn insisted.

"It's just… I never expected you to be a bottom," Frannie explained with a cheeky grin.

"I- what?"

"Hey, it's no big deal," Frannie assured as she made gestures with her hands to show that she meant no harm. "It's cool if you're a bottom. Being a top is way overrated anyway."

"I am not a bottom," Quinn told her outright. "Besides we're not even having sex so… I mean I guess I could be a bottom but I'm definitely not." Quinn immediately turned away from Frannie, disappointed in her childish behavior. Sometimes it was almost as though Quinn were the big sister and not Frannie. The fact that Frannie's initial response was to laugh only helped to prove that point.

"Sure sis, you're definitely not a bottom." The sarcasm in her voice was very apparent. "Jeez, sounds like you've got it bad for this girl. Do I hear wedding bells?" she teased. Though her sister couldn't see, Quinn rolled her eyes. Of course she'd marry her first girlfriend because that's exactly how things happen in real life. She let out a scoff. "Oh, come on sis. Talk. You know you want to."

Quinn ground her teeth together. As much as she would have liked to say otherwise Frannie was right. With a sigh she relented. "Okay," she said, turning back towards her sister. Frannie fist pumped with a cry of victory. Again Quinn rolled her eyes. "All right so… Rachel sings. She's part of glee club, and she's amazing. And I know you're wondering but the only reason she joined the football team was because of me."

"What? Why?" Frannie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She told me she was just trying to impress me," Quinn explained to which Frannie had to hold back a laugh. "Hey, don't laugh. It's not funny. It was actually really sweet." Quinn smiled as she remembered that night. "She's always really sweet actually," she added as an afterthought.

"Aww!"

"Shut up Frannie."

"Sorry," Frannie apologized, tossing her hands up in defense. "Please continue."

"She's got a really strong personality. She's usually really brave but she can get really shy around me," Quinn explained with a giggle. "She and Santana don't get along too well though." Frannie didn't seem too surprised with that news. "You know how Santana can be; she was being a bitch just so she could mess with me, but they'll put their differences behind them eventually. At least I hope they will." She didn't sound too optimistic about that thought.

"Well, sounds like you've got something good going for you."

"Yeah, yeah."

Quinn's tone lacked enthusiasm which prompted some concern from her sister. "What? What is it?" she asked with genuine worry. "You afraid to bring her home to mom and dad?" Quinn's lack of a response felt like answer enough. "If you need me I'm there sis; I can be there when you tell them, and who knows they just might surprise you."

"Maybe." Quinn forced a smile. "Maybe."

_Back at Noah's…_

After several crushing games Rachel was feeling very good about herself. Shooting a bullet right between a man's eyes proved to be quite therapeutic, so long as there was no real killing involved of course. She had more or less forgotten why she had been upset in the first place. Jesse was just a jerk and not worth the time and effort. Sometimes Rachel just needed to be reminded of that fact. Besides, Rachel had more important things to focus from; namely, Homecoming.

And so when she was leaving Noah's and he asked her, "Do you need me to drop you off anywhere?" Rachel knew the perfect answer.

"The mall, actually," she answered. "You could even help me."

"With what?"

"I need to buy a new dress for Homecoming," Rachel told him cheerfully.

Noah groaned in response. "No way," his answer came out without a second thought. "You know I don't do the whole shopping thing. And do you really want someone like me to help you pick out a dress for Homecoming?"

It was a reasonable point and honestly the answer was, "No, I don't." Despite his reluctance to go along with her, Noah actually looked offended. "But you're my best friend. You wouldn't steer me wrong would you? I know that most people think that I'm not the most stylish person around, and maybe I'm not," she admitted. "I wear things that I like and things that are comfortable. And I know that I can pick out a nice dress on my own, but I'd appreciate a second opinion. Please Noah. This is the first time that I've ever had to worry about what I'm going to wear."

Noah's resolve was quickly breaking. He turned away from her; away from that pout upon her face. He was going to give her a ride one way or another, that much was certain. And seeing as that would be the case it would only make sense for him to drive her home as well. He opened up the passenger side door and motioned for Rachel to take a seat. "All right, get it," he told her.

Rachel leapt up and gave him a big hug. "Thank you so much Noah."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get in before I change my mind."

During the drive to the mall Rachel and Noah engaged in one of their typical fights over the radio. Like always, Rachel won. The mall itself wasn't huge. It was really more of a mini-mall especially in comparison to the malls one would find in big cities and such. There wouldn't be too many places to find dresses worthy of going to a Homecoming in. Rachel reminded Noah of that fact constantly during the ride there. She tried to make it seem like they'd be in and out in a matter of minutes even though she knew that she'd end up trying out a few dozen dresses before she found the one.

Though Rachel had gone to school dances in the past, she had never taken them seriously. Mostly she had just been dragged along with Noah and she'd end up spending the night nervously approaching Quinn in an awful attempt to ask her to dance. Rachel would always chicken out and then retreat to the punch bowl. She'd get a cup of punch but then decide not to drink it just in case it had been previously spiked. It was an awful routine. But now Rachel had a year full of dances and she was planning on spending each one of them wrapped in Quinn's arms.

_Back at Quinn's…_

It made sense that Frannie felt the need to interrogate Quinn about every little detail when it came to Rachel. Despite her immaturity, Frannie was still the big sister and it was only natural that she'd look out for Quinn. And so when Quinn found Frannie snooping around on her laptop she wasn't at all surprised. "Hey, what are you doing?!" She was still upset though.

"Nothing," Frannie answered casually. "Just watching some videos of your girlfriend singing. She's good. She planning on releasing an album someday?"

"No… or, I mean I don't think so, but- Hey! Don't change the subject! Get off my laptop!"

"Okay, fine," Frannie gave up, raising her hands up as a sign of surrender. "Here. Sorry, I didn't think you'd get so mad about it. She's really important to you, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Depends on what it is."

"You said you've only been out on one date, but I can't help but wonder something." Frannie took a pause. Quinn knew what was coming. If anyone knew how to read her then that person would be her sister. "How long have you actually liked this girl?"

Quinn couldn't help but let out a weak laugh. "Honestly?"

"If you want."


	14. Chapter 14

Homecoming. Quinn had been waiting for this night. It had been two weeks since her talk with Frannie; two amazingly great weeks. She didn't really like admitting the truth to her sister, but only because doing so also admit that she had wasted so much time. The thing was that if Quinn were being honest then she'd have to say that she didn't really know the answer to Frannie's question. Quinn had known of Rachel's existence prior to the little incident with Finn.

She had always thought that she had been cute. Quinn could even remember the first time that she had ever seen her. It was the first day of school back in their freshman year. Rachel marched down the halls of McKinley with head held high. Few people truly enjoyed the start of a new school year; Rachel was one of those people. With that dazzling smile upon her face it was hard for Quinn not to think that she was anything but beautiful.

But then Puck came along and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He had said something and she laughed. Needless to say that Quinn had been a bit disappointed, and did her best to push the cute little brunette out of her mind. Said task proved to be easier said than done. One of the first things Quinn had learned about Rachel was that she was smart. The two of them share a number of classes, a few of them being honors. Quinn came to find that Rachel was the kind of person to raise her hand in class. She didn't care that it wasn't cool to do so. She genuinely liked learning, just like Quinn.

And just like that Quinn's plan of forgetting about Rachel's existence was forgotten. She wouldn't have been able to go through with the plan even if she wanted to. Rachel had something about her; something that begged for attention. Quinn couldn't help but giggle as she thought about it. She quickly checked the time. There were still several hours left before she had to pick Rachel up. It felt weird, but in a good way.

Quinn had never gone to a dance alone, but all the same she had never gone to one with a date. She always had to go along with Santana and Brittany, and although she loved the two of them Quinn hated the feeling of being a third wheel. But now it would be just her and Rachel. They'd be able to dance the night away if they wanted to. The previous night she had been terrified as she watched Rachel play. Quinn was always terrified whenever she had to watch Rachel play.

Last week she had been so glad because the Titans didn't have a game. And at the end of the week she and Rachel went out on their second date. It had been lovely. Rachel had planned the whole thing out. She had given Quinn flowers, taken her to a movie, some dancing and she finished the night off with dinner. It was a dream come true and the one thing that could have ruined it all was if Rachel had gotten injured during the Homecoming Game.

It wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world; sitting by Rachel's bedside and making sure that she was okay. Quinn wouldn't have minded. There would be other dances for them to attend, but that wasn't the point. But Quinn didn't have to worry about that anyway. She had a dance to get ready for. She went to her bathroom and hopped into the shower. Her dress was hanging just inside her closet. It had taken forever to find the perfect one but it would be so worth.

She couldn't wait to see Rachel's reaction, or just to see Rachel herself. But that's all she could do; wait. After her shower Quinn slipped into her dress; a back little number with a high lace neckline that which showed off some skin without being too revealing. It hugged her curves perfectly. She gave herself a once over in the body length mirror she had hanging on the inside of her closet. Not to sound full of herself, but Quinn thought she looked hot.

Quinn did a little spin and took a brief glance at her butt. It looked a little big. Quinn frowned slightly. Still she looked great though. Another glance at the time told Quinn that she didn't need to pick Rachel up any time soon, but she was getting impatient. She looked herself over in the mirror once more before deciding that she didn't really care about being casually late. Quinn slowly made her way downstairs where her parents were watching some television in the living room.

They seemed to be waiting for her because the moment she was in view the two of them spun their heads towards her. Her mother gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh Quinn." She got up from her seat and approached her daughter. "You look beautiful."

"You sure do," her father agreed. "I'm sure all those boys will regret not asking you out." Quinn's eyes dropped down to her heels. "I'm sorry sweetheart," Russell apologized, lifting his daughter's head up so that he could look her in the eye. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, Daddy. It isn't that…" It really wasn't, but Quinn couldn't figure out a way to explain that she did have a date, a wonderful date that just so happened to be a girl. The words were on her lips, but she couldn't speak them. It would have been easier with Frannie around. Maybe she should have taken the opportunity and told them while she was still in town. It was too late to do that now though. She couldn't tell them, not on her own. She wasn't ready. "I'll be fine Daddy," she assured. "I don't need a date. I'll have fun either way."

Her father smiled and pulled her in for a hug. He kissed her on the forehead. "Be careful out there," he told her.

"I will. I should get going."

Quinn turned to leave but she didn't get as far as one step before she heard her mother cry out, "Wait, wait! Let me get my camera first!" she insisted. Judy disappeared upstairs and after a few moments she came back down, camera in tow. She took several photos before letting Quinn go on her way. Quinn got into her car. She went down the driveway and made a turn towards the school as opposed to making a turn towards Rachel's house.

She'd be able to backtrack later on and there was no reason to unnecessarily draw any suspicion from her parents. Once she was out of sight Quinn turned her car around and started making her way to Rachel's house. It was already getting dark out. The sky was clear. Quinn could see the moon. She wondered if there would be a place open where she could buy some flowers. As she drove Quinn kept an eye out just in case.

And as though it were an answer to her prayers Quinn somehow stumbled upon just the place. It was a quaint little store that looked just about ready to close up for the night. The storeowner couldn't say no to Quinn though and let her buy a beautiful bouquet of gardenias before closing up her shop. With her flowers safely sitting in the passenger's seat Quinn continued on to Rachel's house. The trip didn't take much longer

She rolled up outside, got her flowers and walked up to the front porch. Holding the gardenias behind her back, Quinn rang the doorbell. Her eyes fell down to her feet and they stayed there until she heard the sound of the door opening. Immediately her eyes shot back up to be greeted by the beautiful sight of Rachel's face. Quinn started to reveal the flowers she had hidden behind her back but she stopped midway once she saw Rachel fully.

Quinn's throat grew dry. In front of her Rachel was wearing a short strapless dress that showed off her legs as well as a fair amount of cleavage. Upon receiving Quinn's silent greeting Rachel looked herself over. "Is it too much?" she asked. If anything, it probably wasn't enough. "Maybe Noah was right. He said he wasn't good at these things. I have other dresses that I can wear. I'll just go change." Rachel began retreating upstairs but at that same moment Quinn regained control of her body.

She gently grasped onto Rachel's wrist and told her, "No. No, you look gorgeous." A blush crept onto Rachel's face and she shook her head. "Really," Quinn assured. For once in her life Quinn actually felt like she owed Puck a thank you. "Here, these are for you." She handed Rachel the flowers only having just remembered about them.

"Oh, these are lovely." Rachel brought the bouquet up to her nose and took a sniff. "Thank you Quinn. Let me just find a vase for these." Rachel disappeared and Quinn went into the living room to wait. Rachel's dads showed up once Rachel returned and so more pictures were taken, much to Rachel's embarrassment. Quinn didn't mind though; she liked knowing that they would have pictures of her and Rachel together.

They then left and Quinn drove them to school. The dance was well under way when the two of them arrived and they quickly made their way onto the dance floor as an upbeat tune played. Despite her moment of insecurity earlier, Rachel let loose and showed off her sexy side. People were probably staring, but if they were Quinn didn't notice. She was too busy staring at Rachel as well. The way she swayed her hips was almost hypnotic.

The two of them danced for what seemed like hours. Through the crowd, Quinn could see that Brittany and Santana were having fun. The rest of the Cheerios were around too. Gabrielle was over by the punch bowl. Quinn liked her well enough, but she didn't trust her around Rachel. The thing was that Quinn was getting kind of thirsty. She excused herself to get a drink and told Rachel that she'd be back in a minute.

Quinn walked over to the punch bowl. Their eyes briefly met and Gabrielle waved at her. Quinn waved back and grabbed a cup. She poured herself some punch and took a drink. "This is fun, isn't it?" Gabrielle suddenly spoke up.

"Yeah, it is."

"I've never been to one of these before."

"Really? Well, it's nice to hear that you're enjoying yourself." Quinn scanned the crowd for Rachel and once she spotted her she decided to make her retreat. "It was nice seeing you Gabby. I should get back to Rachel."

"Oh, okay. Bye."

Quinn made her way back to Rachel just in time for a slow song to start. A shy, nervous smile made its way onto Rachel's lips. She slowly approached Quinn. Quinn grabbed Rachel's hands and placed them on her hips, mostly because she didn't think she'd be able to control herself if she placed her hands on Rachel's hips. Instead Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel's shoulders and pulled her in close. They slowly danced to the beat, staring deeply into one another's eyes.

Before long Quinn found herself leaning forward and giving Rachel a soft kiss on the lips. Rachel sighed contently as Quinn pulled back. She moved in closer and rested her head on Quinn's shoulder. Their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly. Quinn would have been content to say in that moment forever. But the moment did have to pass, but that fact didn't stop Quinn from holding onto Rachel for a few extra seconds after the song ended.

Towards the end of the night came the big announcement of Homecoming King and Queen. Quinn had run of course. The title of Homecoming Queen wasn't as important to her as Prom Queen was but she still would have liked to win that tiara. The winner of Homecoming King was easily predictable. Finn won hands down mostly due to the lack of any real competition. The same couldn't be said about Homecoming Queen.

Principal Figgins stood on stage, an envelope in his hands. He opened it up, read it and then adjusted the microphone in front of him. "And our Homecoming Queen is… by write-in vote is… Rachel Berry!" Quinn's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell agape. The student body roared around her. Quinn and Rachel turned to one another, equal looks of surprise upon their faces. She didn't appear to know what to do. Quinn turned her towards the stage and gave her a little shove.

"Go," she whispered. "Get your tiara."

Slowly, Rachel began to move. She was still in shock but she made her way on stage. Figgins placed the tiara upon her head and she took her place beside Finn. She looked over at him. "I can't believe this," she squealed.

"Yeah, neither can I," Finn admitted, to which Rachel frowned. "Not that you couldn't win," he quickly corrected so as not to face her or Quinn's wrath. "Quinn's going to kill me, isn't she?"

"What? No, of course not." Rachel quickly looked over at Quinn. She looked to be glaring at Finn "At least I don't think she would. It wouldn't hurt to be careful though," she shrugged. "I'll talk to her."


	15. Chapter 15

Much to Rachel's delight Quinn didn't try to murder Finn. Rachel was sympathetic towards Quinn; she wouldn't have been too happy if she had to watch Quinn stand up on stage with Finn and then share a dance with her, but that didn't mean that Finn deserved to get hurt for being voted Homecoming King. And she really didn't want anything to ruin the fact that she had been voted Homecoming Queen.

Rachel had never seriously considered the possibility before but she had dreamt of it. Every girl deserved to have at least one night to be treated like a princess… or like a queen as it was. Frankly, Rachel liked the word princess over queen but that was just personal preference. Anyway, Rachel liked that feeling. Thus far, Homecoming had to be the greatest night of her young life. She ended the night with one last dance with Quinn. After the dance, Quinn drove Rachel home and congratulated her for being voted Homecoming Queen. Her compliments made Rachel blush.

That night it was hard for her to fall asleep. Her body was practically humming with energy, which wasn't particularly unusual as Rachel was always full of energy, but Rachel almost felt like she was glowing just like the star that she knew she was. Eventually though she did tire out. Her eyes closed shut and she drifted off into dreamland. Rachel woke up early the following morning just like she always did. Her tiara rested on her nightstand. Rachel smiled as she looked at it.

She picked it up and carefully placed it atop her head before heading over to the mirror she had on top of her dresser so she could look at herself. Her dads had been asleep when she had gotten home the previous night. She couldn't wait to tell them about how she was voted Homecoming Queen. Rachel Barbra Berry, Homecoming Queen. It was still weird to think about. Not too long ago it seemed like no one at school knew her name, and now she was Little Miss Popular.

After a minute or two Rachel took off her tiara and placed it back on her nightstand. She then started up on her morning routine. She took a jog around the block after she was finished. Rachel ran a few laps but she was feeling pretty tired so she didn't stay out too long. Once she was done Rachel headed straight for her room. She just wanted to lay in her bed and maybe call or text Quinn. But once she got there she was surprised to find that her room was already occupied.

"Noah? What are you doing here?" Rachel was surprised to say the least. Noah knew where the spare key was so he could have easily gotten inside but it was quite odd for him to be up at this time of day.

"Aw, nothing really," he shrugged. "I just got a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What is it?"

Noah chuckled. "Well if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?"

"Noah, what is it?" Rachel whined.

"Fine, fine," Noah relented. "Close your eyes," he instructed. Rachel eagerly did as he told. She was bouncing on the soles of her feet. She wondered what it could be; maybe a puppy or a kitten. Rachel had always wanted a pet. Of course she probably wouldn't be able to find the time to take care of a pet, but she still wanted one. Whatever it was Rachel was excited. Noah took his time though, prolonging her wait. Rachel would have hit him she only she could see where he was. "All right, open your eyes." Instantly, Rachel did just that.

In front Rachel, Noah held out a letterman jacket. It was small, or at least smaller than most. It took Rachel a moment to piece everything together. And then she gasped. "Is this…"

"Yep, it's yours," Noah answered. "And don't worry I talked to Coach and she ordered it special; fake leather." Rachel might have squealed a bit. "So come on, try it on," he told her, motioning for her to turn around. Rachel smiled, hugged Noah and did a quick spin. She held her arms up and Noah helped her put her new letterman on. It felt amazing.

Rachel screamed out her joy. "I love this!" she squealed, hugging herself tightly. She knew then that buy a letterman jacket was well worth the investment. The material used was very high quality. It was very comfortable and not only that but it was stylish too. But then, after some thought, Rachel realized something. "But I never ordered a letterman," she told Noah, her brows scrunching up in confusion. She spun towards him, hoping that he'd have an answer. He did, but she didn't like it.

"You didn't," he answered simply. "I bought it for you." Rachel promptly hit him on the arm. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"That's for being stupid!" Rachel would normally never call Noah stupid, but in this case that's exactly what he was. "Do you have any idea how expensive these things are?!" Noah gave her an odd look and then glanced down at himself. Rachel followed his eyes. He was wearing his own letterman. "Okay, stupid question," she admitted. "Clearly you do know how expensive these things are. But really Noah, why would you spend so much money on me?"

"What not?" Noah laughed to which Rachel only frowned. "Hey, come on. I can't buy things for my best friend now?"

"It's not that. It's just… it's a lot of money."

"Yeah, but I've been expanding on my pool cleaning business so it's all good."

Still Rachel frowned. But she really liked her new jacket. No, she loved her new jacket. And best of all, now that she had a letterman she could ask Quinn if she wanted to wear it. It really wasn't fair. Her pout deepened. "Okay… but you have to promise not to spend too much for me on my birthday." Noah laughed.

"Don't spend  _too_  much?" he repeated her words.

"What?" Rachel replied shyly. "I still want you to get me something," she explained. "I suppose you don't even have to spend anything if you want, so long as I still get a present." Rachel really liked receiving gifts. Noah laughed again.

"Deal." Noah extended his hand to seal said deal but Rachel instead chose to link pinkies. "Seriously?" he asked with a groan.

"Pinky swear," Rachel insisted.

"Fine, pinky swear." He gave her one last hug before announcing his leave. "I'm going to head back home and get some sleep." It was very predictable behavior for him, but knowing that Noah got up extra early just to bring Rachel her letterman jacket did make Rachel smile. She walked him downstairs and waited until he was in his car before going back to her room. Rachel considered calling Quinn but thought better of it once she recalled the first time she had called her as such an early hour.

Instead Rachel chose to wait, and as she waited she got a brilliant idea. Said idea would involve more waiting but considering how long she waited to become Quinn's girlfriend, Rachel was sure she'd be able to survive it. She would end up calling Quinn later on, but she didn't mention her new letterman jacket. What Rachel did do was ask Quinn if she could pick her up the following Monday so they could go to school together. Quinn had done so a couple of times so it didn't take too much convincing on Rachel's part.

The only thing that proved difficult was for Rachel to keep a straight look on her face, but that didn't matter as Quinn couldn't see the giant grin on her face. Albeit, she did notice that Rachel sounded especially happy. She seemed to think that it was due to Rachel being voted Homecoming Queen and Rachel more than fine to go along with her assumption. Rachel really did like being Homecoming Queen, even though she felt that there was someone else that should have won the tiara.

"You don't mind, do you?" Rachel had to ask. It was a topic that she was afraid to bring up but also one that she didn't want to avoid.

"No, of course not."

"Are you sure, because-"

"Rachel," Quinn interrupted. "Yes, I wanted to be voted Homecoming Queen. But at the same time I wanted you to win too. I even voted for you," she admitted.

"You did?"

"Of course I did."

"Aw, thanks Quinn. That's so sweet."

"You can thank me with a kiss," Quinn suggested.

"Okay." Rachel puckered up her lips. "Mwah. How's that?"

"Really nice, but I expect a real the next time I see you."

"I wouldn't mind that."

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Quinn lightly teased. "Hey, I got to go. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye. Mwah."

The following Monday, Rachel waited patiently in the living room for Quinn to show up. She had letterman jacket on and would periodically check out the window. Okay, so maybe she wasn't being completely patient. The two of them had yet to officially go steady and Rachel could think of no better way to do so than to have Quinn wear her letterman jacket.

After a while Rachel saw Quinn's little red car roll up. She squealed a little but quickly regained her composure and turned away from the window. She pretended to watch some show as waited for Quinn to ring the doorbell. Rachel jumped up the moment she heard it. She ran for the door, once more calmed herself, and then answered. "Hi, Quinn," she greeted coyly.

"Morning Rachel." Quinn smiled at her. She leaned in and pecked her on the cheek. Only when she pulled back did Quinn notice what Rachel was wearing. "Is that I think it is?" she asked.

"It's my letterman jacket," Rachel answered, giving a little spin. "Do you like it?"

"I do. It's looks really nice on you."

"It'd look better on you." Quinn's eyes grew wide. Rachel nervously bit down on her lower lip.

"Are you asking me what I think you're asking?"

"Maybe."

"Okay," Quinn answered, causing Rachel's eyes to light up. "I'd wear you letterman but there's only one problem." Rachel frowned slightly out of confusion. "I already have a jacket," she pointed out, looking down at herself and the Cheerios jacket she had on. Rachel nodded dejectedly. "But… I could wear your letterman if someone else were to wear my jacket." It took a moment for her words to register.

"Do you mean…" Instead of finishing her question Rachel meekly pointed at herself.

"Who else?"

"I-I'd love to."

"Great." Quinn took off her jacket and Rachel did the same. They exchanged them and put each other's jackets on. It fit perfectly and it smelt like Quinn. It took all of Rachel's self-control to stop her herself doing a happy dance.

"Quinn, are we- are we going steady now?"

"Yeah." Quinn's answer made Rachel so happy that she jumped into her arms, nearly knocking her over, and kissed her hard on the lips. Quinn had to pull back though since they still had to get to school. She wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulders and started leading her towards her car. "Looking good stud," she teased, causing both of them to laugh. Quinn helped Rachel inside and kissed her on the lips before going over to the driver's side.

When they got to school Rachel looped her arm around Quinn's waist and escorted her into the building. Quinn once more wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulders. They caught a few glances although no one let their eyes linger. Quinn dropped Rachel off at her locker and after a kiss on the cheek she left to go to her own. Noah came by soon after because he and Rachel would always check up on each other in the morning.

He gave her one look and then paused. Rachel smiled widely. Noah gave her a once over and did so a second time. He brought a hand to his chin and stroked it slightly. "That is not the same jacket I gave you the other day," he pointed out the obvious. Rachel shook her head. "This is why you agreed to me paying, isn't it? I'm ashamed of you." And with that he left, an amused smile on his face. With both him and Quinn gone Rachel was free to do a happy dance, albeit a small one.

It felt really good wearing Quinn's Cheerios jacket throughout the day. Being able to smell Quinn's at any given time helped when Rachel missed her, but sometimes it also made Rachel miss Quinn more. At the end of the day Quinn offered to drive Rachel back home, and of course Rachel agreed. But as they hit the road Rachel couldn't help but ask something.

"Quinn, do you think I can stay over at your place tonight?" Rachel had been to Quinn's place a couple of times since they started but she had never spent the night. And with their new going steady status, Rachel felt like that they needed to do something special. Not  _that_  special thing, mind you. That would be something to save for later on in their relationship. Rachel just wanted to sleep over at Quinn's for once, especially since Quinn had slept over at Rachel's a couple of times already.

"I'd love to." That would have been enough, but the tone of Quinn's voice told Rachel everything she needed to know. "But tonight wouldn't be the best night. I'm sorry, it's just my parents are having friends over for dinner and-"

"Oh, okay. You don't have to explain, I understand."

"Please don't be upset, Rach. I really would love it if you stayed over, but… Jesse's going to be there," Quinn groaned out. "It would be so much better if you could be there with me, but he's going to be a complete jerk and I just don't want to make you go through with that. Another night maybe?" she suggested with an apologetic smile.

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"About what? You don't have anything to be sorry for," Quinn assured.

"I know. I'm sorry that you have to suffer through an evening with Jesse."

Quinn laughed. "Thanks. Dinner's going to be so awful. I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," Rachel said just as they stopped at a red light. She leaned over and kissed Quinn on the cheek. "But look on the bright side, at least you have my letterman jacket to keep you company."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed. "And you have my Cheerios jacket."

"I do. I love you."

"I love you too, baby."


	16. Chapter 16

Rachel hated the idea of Quinn having dinner with Jesse. Sure, it wasn't Quinn's idea and it wasn't like they were having a romantic dinner or anything like that but that didn't mean that Rachel had to like the idea or even be okay with it. She could just imagine it; Jesse and his smug face bragging about his many accomplishments. He didn't even have that many, although many of the ones that he did have involved beating Rachel. Of course some of those wins were due to cheating.

Honest.

Maybe Rachel didn't have any definitive proof but she had experienced too many coincidences while completing with him to believe that everything had happened purely out of chance. There was one particular contest where Rachel was certain that Jesse had stolen her performance and made it his own. Rachel was forced to come up with a whole new routine, and despite having plenty of backups Rachel didn't have enough time to prepare. Her performance was still amazing; it just wasn't enough for her to win.

And due to her experience with him Rachel felt it was necessary for her to give Quinn a call after dinner to ensure that he didn't completely ruin her day. She waited an adequate time, simply lying in bed with Quinn's Cheerios jacket wrapped tightly around her. Rachel hadn't taken it off all day, nor did she have any plans of taking it off anytime soon. She'd probably take it off before she went to sleep… maybe.

Anyway, Rachel decided to call Quinn. It took two and a half rings before she heard Quinn pick up. "Hey, girlfriend." Rachel's lips curved upward as she heard those words. It was like music to her ears. But despite her joy, Rachel couldn't hear the same amount of joy in Quinn's tone.

"Bad dinner?" she guessed.

"Am I that obvious?" Quinn forced out a laugh. "It wasn't that awful, I guess."

"Yeah?" Rachel was quite sure if believed Quinn, but she wanted to hope.

"Yeah. I did have to sit next to that douche, but he at least acted polite." Rachel could just see Quinn rolling her eyes. It was hard for her to imagine Jesse ever acting polite, unless he was in fact acting; which he more than likely was. "But let's not talk about He-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named, okay? How was your evening?" They ended up talking for hours and Rachel went along with Quinn's wish of not discussing Jesse St. Jerkface. She didn't even want to talk about him anyway.

Instead they ended up talking about what they wanted to dress up as for Halloween. Rachel wanted to reuse her Elphaba costume and have Quinn as her Galinda. Quinn on the other hand wanted to dress up as Harley Quinn and have Rachel be her Poison Ivy. She also had an alternate suggestion of Rachel dressing up as Catwoman in case thought that a Poison Ivy costume would be a bit too revealing, but Rachel sure that Quinn just wanted to get her into a skin-tight suit. Rachel liked her idea better, but she wasn't at all opposed to what Quinn had in mind. They still had time to make up their minds though, and as long as they wore matching costumes Rachel would be happy.

During previous Halloweens Rachel had always tried to convince Noah to wear complimentary costumes. She was always careful about what she chose so that they wouldn't appear to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but most times Noah refused... or at least he would initially. It was never too hard for Rachel to convince him to play along. One year she even got him to wear tights when they dressed up as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, or as Noah called Rachel, Tinkerberry. That had been a fun night, a funny one as well. Rachel remembered bumping into Quinn during Noah's Halloween Party.

Quinn was dressed up as Blossom of the Powerpuff Girls. She looked particularly adorable due to her oversized bow. Rachel had been too shy to compliment Quinn, but that didn't matter at the time because Quinn had told Rachel that she looked cute. In retrospect though, Rachel started tow wonder if cute was the only word that Quinn would have used to describe her that night. Rachel's costume was kind of small; her legs were on full display.

It was necessarily Rachel's goal to look hot, but she was. Noah even said so himself. And there was one point in the night, a moment that Rachel might have imagined, but there was one point where she was certain that Quinn was staring at her butt. Of course Rachel wasn't about to ask and risk embarrassing either herself or Quinn, and so they continued to bring up other ideas for what to dress up as. Eventually it grew dark, and only then did Rachel realize that she had spent the entire evening on the phone.

That wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world, but she had a mountain of homework that needed to get done. Quinn laughed and lightly chastised Rachel when she told her, but also admitted that she had some unfinished homework of her own. They said good bye with kisses through the phone. After she hung up Rachel pulled out her laptop. Although she knew that some teachers would give jocks a free pass, Rachel wasn't about to take the easy route through school.

As Rachel started her work she found herself opening up her internet browser. She logged onto Facebook despite the distraction it would likely cause. Her friends list had increased tenfold, maybe more, since joining the Titans. Rachel added all new request simply to be nice, and also maybe because she liked the attention. But she didn't really know all of them though, but she knew that all of them would end up bragging one day that they were friends with Rachel Berry before she became a big Broadway star.

There were tons of new notifications. She had been tagged in a bunch of photos; most of them were from Homecoming. She browsed through them for a bit before deciding to go on with what she had originally intended to do. Understandably, Rachel wanted to update her relationship status but before doing so she decided to check Quinn's Facebook page first. Unfortunately, she found that Quinn had yet to change her relationship status from  _single_  to  _in a relationship_.

Rachel had to frown. She didn't want to update her status if Quinn's wasn't updated as well. She would just have to wait. And while she waited, she still had her homework to do. She had a sizable amount of assignments to get done, mostly from her honors and AP classes, but not all of them needed to be turned in the following day. Despite that though, Rachel still finished everything, tiring herself out in the process. She had just enough energy to go through with her nightly routine before going to sleep in Quinn's jacket.

Quinn too was wearing her girlfriend's jacket. But unlike Rachel, Quinn was unable to sleep. Closing her eyes only replayed the events that had taken place just a little bit earlier. She had gotten through dinner, survived Jesse's annoying rambling. Everything should have been good. She would have liked to think that it had all just been a dream, but the fact that she was still awake told her otherwise. She should have said something. Quinn knew she should have said something, but instead she smiled and nodded like a good little girl. It wasn't as though it were the end of the world.

So long as she bided her time everything would be fine. It wasn't much of a plan but Quinn didn't have much of a choice otherwise. She tossed and turned, trying to find the most comfortable position that she could find. Quinn knew that worrying about things wouldn't help at all, and she still needed her rest. She tried to fill her mind with happy thoughts. It didn't help much. She wrapped Rachel's jacket more tightly around her and slipped out of bed.

She went over to her window and pulled back the curtain. The night sky was clear. The stars shone brightly. Looking at them made her think of Rachel; Quinn's own little star. She curled up on her window seat and looked up at them. They offered some comfort, something that Quinn really needed. Quinn stayed there for some time, but eventually slipped back into bed. She wouldn't be sleeping but there was no point in not trying.

When morning broke her body was weak. Quinn was tired, having stayed up all night despite her best attempts. She couldn't stop her thoughts nor slow the beating of her heart, but Quinn quickly put on a happy face once she got out of bed. Neither of her parents saw through her façade. Quinn was glad that neither of them decided to talk about the events that had transpired the night before. She didn't need or want any reminding.

After breakfast Quinn left to pick up Rachel. Shortly after a quick drive she pulled up outside her girlfriend's house. As she walked up to the front porch, Quinn saw the door swing open. Behind it stood Rachel; a beaming smile upon her face. Her eyes were twinkling. She looked happier than Quinn had ever seen her. The moment she was close enough, Quinn pulled Rachel in and kissed her hard and long. When Quinn pulled back Rachel looked to be in a daze.

"What- what was that for?" Rachel asked. By the sound of her tone Quinn could only guess that she was still out of it. It made her giggle. It was funny to think that she could be that good of a kisser considering that Rachel was the first person she had ever kissed. Quinn wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders and gave her another kiss, this time on the cheek.

"Just saying good morning to my beautiful girlfriend," she answered simply.

"Oh." Rachel took a brief pause. "I suppose I should say good morning back," she replied with a grin. After the night she had, Quinn couldn't say no but first she led Rachel to her car. What followed was a lot of making out. It was lucky that Quinn had picked Rachel up early or else they would have likely been late for school. Instead they were able to cuddle in the backseat. Quinn nuzzled into Rachel and squeezed her tightly.

The day was starting out so nicely. She didn't want to ruin it. Quinn planted a kiss on the top of Rachel's head. "We should get going," she whispered. Rachel groaned out her annoyance but did little else to protest. With a sigh she slipped out of Quinn's arms. Quinn got into the driver's seat and drove them to school. Beside her, Rachel had a silly grin upon her lips. Due to their heated makeout session, her cheeks would redden every time she looked Quinn in the eye and so throughout most of the trip Rachel simply gazed out the window.

It was better that way for Quinn. She couldn't have Rachel looking at her, reading her expression. As bad as she felt for lying to her parents, Quinn could only guess that she'd feel worse for lying to Rachel. But thinking about things like that would only make it far easier to notice that something was wrong. She would deal with everything when she needed to, but for the time being she was simply going to school with her girlfriend.

Their morning started off much like any other. She walked Rachel to class and she kissed her good bye. Once Quinn began to leave, people started crowding around her girlfriend. Chatter started up, most of it revolved around Rachel's performance at the Homecoming game and her victory in being voted Homecoming Queen. This wouldn't have bothered Quinn if it wasn't for one particular voice; Jacob Ben Israel. Jacob had had a crush on Rachel for almost as long as Quinn had.

Naturally, Quinn wasn't fond of the idea of him being anywhere around Rachel. It wasn't because he was a threat, but because his previous behavior around Rachel was typically of the inappropriate kind. Quinn could hear him say something about interviewing Rachel for the yearbook. Jacob was on the yearbook staff so it was possible that he was doing just that, so Quinn let it go. She had enough problems to deal with and Quinn was confident that Rachel knew exactly how to deal with Jacob.

Unfortunately though there was no real way of dealing with Jacob. Rachel's first three years of high school had taught her that. If there was one thing she could say about him it would be that he was persistent. No matter how many times that Rachel rejected him, he always kept coming back. Rachel could have actually found the trait endearing, if she wasn't so repulsed by him. She played along and answered his questions; it would be good practice for when she became famous.

In fact, her current status in general was good practice for when she became famous. Rachel would have preferred to become popular due to her singing ability instead of her football prowess, and that fact she was popular because of the latter made her frown slightly. But she did have hope that her popularity would help boost interest in glee club. Maybe Quinn would join. Rachel had never heard Quinn sing before, but she had imagined it constantly. She wondered if Quinn's really singing voice would be as angelic and seductive as the one in her mind. Rachel was pretty sure it would be.

Throughout the day Rachel pondered how best to bring up the subject. She didn't want to make Quinn feel like she was being forced into doing something, but she also really wanted to hear Quinn sing. The extra time that they would spend together was also nice. After much deliberation, Rachel decided that the best course of action would be to casually tell Quinn about glee club as they left school. Sectionals were coming up and New Directions were currently planning their set list.

Rachel's plan was simple. All she had to do was casually ask Quinn about her opinion; ask her what songs she felt would be good to perform. Particularly, Rachel needed songs she could mostly perform on her own. This wasn't due to Rachel's need for the spotlight though. It had more to do with the fact that New Directions was short on members and would be having the band fill in as extras. Rachel kind of needed to perform the whole number on her own. Not that she minded.

After the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Rachel happily went to find her girlfriend. It didn't take long before she found her. Rachel carefully snuck up behind Quinn. Once she was close enough she close enough Rachel got on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around Quinn's shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Hi, Quinn."

Quinn turned around and pulled Rachel in for a real kiss. "Hi, yourself," she smirked. "I missed you. I wish we had more classes together. I got so lonely without you around. I hope your day was better."

"A little bit, I guess," Rachel shrugged. "I had a talk with Mr. Schue earlier." She hadn't.

"Yeah, what about?" Quinn asked, looping her arm around Rachel's waist as the two of them started walking towards the parking lot.

"About Sectionals; he wanted to know about my ideas for our set list." He would never actually ask something like that and so Rachel decided to add, "There's no guarantee that he'll change the set list that he's already prepared, but I thought I'd ask what you thought?"

"What I think?" Quinn pondered aloud. "Well, I do have one idea." She leaned in close and whispered in Rachel's ear.

Rachel's eyes went wide. "Quinn!"

"What?" Quinn laughed. "I think it'd be really sexy if you sang that. I wouldn't mind if you sang it to me." Rachel could do nothing but blush. She could really see herself performing that song, except maybe for a private show for Quinn. Maybe. It took a moment or two for her to regain her composure.

"Perhaps, but I don't think the judges would very much appreciate my performance."

"No," Quinn agreed. "No, they probably wouldn't."


	17. Chapter 17

Asking Noah what he thought about the whole costume debate was probably the worst idea that Rachel had ever come up with. Being her friend, he should have taken her side but instead he agreed with Quinn. His reasoning was simple. "That'd be hot, especially if Quinn decides to go with Arkham City costume rather than the traditional one. Damn, that would be- Ow!"

"You will not be ogling my girlfriend Noah Puckerman!" Rachel warned.

"I wasn't going to."

"But you were thinking about it."

"Maybe…" Noah admitted. Rachel went to hit him again and he flinched in response. Luckily for him Rachel decided not to punch him again. "It's not like I mean anything by it," he pointed out. "She'd be hot. You know that, but she's your girl. I'm not going to do nothing."

She gave him a mean look and spun on heel as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, but no looking at my girlfriend. I mean it Noah." Such a warning was unnecessary but Rachel still wanted to give it. Honestly though, it was her own fault. Noah was always such a guy so it was almost guaranteed that he'd pick the costume that would be deemed sexier. It was just typical male behavior, but now that Noah mentioned it Rachel had to wonder what kind of Harley Quinn outfit Quinn would go with. Rachel spun back around to face Noah. "Do you think you can give me a ride?" she asked innocently. With the way she had raised her voice at him Rachel wouldn't have been surprised if he said no, but she also knew that he wouldn't. "I want to go find a Poison Ivy costume."

"So you've made up your mind?" he asked, his curiosity clearly piqued.

"I never said that," Rachel clarified. "I just want to look," she explained.

Noah rolled his eyes. He got up with a sigh and went for the door. "Come on," he called.

Rachel jumped up and hugged him. "Thanks… but you still can't ogle my girlfriend."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Noah chuckled.

"Of course you wouldn't," Rachel replied sarcastically. "But I suppose it doesn't matter; Quinn would never be into you anyway."

Noah gasped in feigned hurt. He opened his mouth to argue but then paused. For a moment he thought and then he said, "Yeah, you're probably right. Quinn's a one-woman kind of girl. Even if she were into guys, she definitely wouldn't bother with me." He sighed and shrugged. "Her loss. Ow!" Again, Rachel had hit him.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing. Just kidding, jeez." Noah rubbed his arm and pulled up the sleeve to check for bruising. "You really need to stop doing that. Now come on let's go."

Rachel decided not to argue any further. She had no idea how long it would take to find the perfect costume so it was essential that she start her search early. The two of them drove around town, stopping at every place that sold costumes. Not each store held what Rachel was looking for. But whenever they found a place that did, Rachel made sure thoroughly look over them to see if could imagine herself wearing it. A lot of them were nice, but for hours none of them seemed to be the one.

It was frustrating, especially since her alternatives would either be to order something over the internet or to make a costume herself. Neither option was very appealing to Rachel. She was still quite bitter over the poor handling of her last online purchase, and due to her lack of sowing skills any attempts of making a costume on her own would likely end in disaster. But just as all hope seemed to be lost, Rachel laid her eyes on it.

Comprising of a short green dress with matching glovelettes and a leafy hairpiece, it was perfect. It was gorgeous and Rachel just had to have it. After finding her size she immediately brought it up to the cashier and bought it without a second thought. Rachel then promptly ordered Noah to drive her home so she could try it on. Rachel could hardly wait though so she opened up the packaging and slipped the glovelettes on.

Rachel smiled. They were really comfy, and really cute. Once Noah got her home, Rachel had him wait in her room while she got changed in her bathroom. Given her excitement it would have been justified to assume that she'd be in and out in just a few minutes, but that wasn't the case. Once Rachel had the costume on, she spent a long time nervously looking herself over in the mirror. Eventually, Noah knocked on the door.

"Everything okay in there?" he called, sounding worried.

"Everything's fine."

"All right," Noah replied skeptically. "Then come out."

"No!" Rachel yelled.

"No? What do you mean no?"

"I mean no." Rachel turned around so that her back was facing the mirror and then looked over her shoulder. She frowned and tried to pull her dress down. She failed in doing so. Rachel sigh and Noah knocked once more. "I said no, Noah." He wouldn't leave. She knew he wouldn't leave. Her only option was to change back into her normal clothes, but she really liked her new costume. There was just one little problem with it.

"Just come out Jew Babe. You look great. I know it." Reluctantly, Rachel did as requested. She slowly opened the door and presented herself to her best friend. He gave her a once over, his eyes stopping at her dress. "Damn." Noah would never look at Rachel in a romantic sense but would never deny that she was hot. "That's… that's…"

"It's short Noah. It's really short." Once more Rachel tried to pull her dress down. It was hopeless to do so. She couldn't help but feel exposed.

"It's not that short," Noah argued to which Rachel glared at him. "What? You have some short skirts," he reminded.

"Not this short, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"You definitely do."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I- You know what, forget it. I have other problems to deal with." Noah had looked so smug that Rachel started to believe that he was right, and he probably was. "I need to get a new Poison Ivy costume." Noah's mouth fell open in disbelief. It had taken forever to find the first one; there was no telling how long it would take to find a suitable replacement.

Noah groaned. "Why can't you just… I don't know… wear a pair of leggings or something."

"Noah please, I just need…" Rachel paused and considered his idea. "You know what? That isn't that bad of an idea." Rachel didn't have any green leggings, or at least none that match her costume but finding a pair that did would be far easier than finding a whole new costume. It only took a small trip to obtain what she needed. Afterwards Rachel went back home to see how much of an improvement Noah's suggestion provided. It looked surprisingly good.

Rachel hugged Noah to show her thanks, not only for idea but also for putting up with her for the day. He assured her that he didn't mind and then left while muttering something about getting some sleep. As he left Rachel decided to call Quinn to inform her of her decision. Needless to say, Quinn was absolutely delighted except for Rachel refused to let her see her costume. Rachel refused to let Quinn see her costume until Halloween.

It was a long wait but not an unbearable one. When that night finally arrived, Quinn made sure to pick Rachel up extra early. She was definitely not disappointed. Just one look at Rachel had her licking her lips. Rachel too was quite happy. Quinn's costume retained the traditional color scheme of Harley Quinn's jumpsuit but instead consisted of a dress, a pair of gloves and some leggings. Forgoing a mask, Quinn chose to just tie her hair up in pigtails.

"Wow."

"Wow, yourself." Quinn looked Rachel over, admiring her form. "Do we have to go to Puck's party?" she asked. "I kind of just want to keep you all to myself." She pressed her lips against Rachel's cheek and slowly trailed kisses down her neck. "What do you say?" she whispered against her girlfriend's skin.

"That sounds nice," Rachel whimpered out. "But… I always spend Halloween with Noah. It's tradition," she explained to her less than pleased girlfriend.

"Okay," Quinn sighed. She looped her arm around Rachel's waist and escorted her to her car.

The party was fully underway by the time they made it to Noah's place. Some people were hanging out on the front porch and the door was wide open. Everyone was dressed up in a variety of outfits. Sad to say, but Rachel and Quinn were the only people in attendance who chose to dress up villains from Batman's rogues' gallery. They were the only couple though, and not only that but in Rachel's opinion they also had the best costumes.

She wanted to show them off so Rachel took Quinn by the hand and found them a spot to dance. Not that she really cared if people were impressed. Rachel just wanted to dance with Quinn. The place was packed so they had to get in real close, something that Rachel didn't mind in the least. They danced for what seemed like hours, sneaking in kisses every so often. Eventually, Rachel got thirsty so she sought out her best friend.

Despite that fact that Noah would often convince Rachel to drink a little, he would always stow some non-alcoholic beverages for Rachel whenever he threw a party. It took a while but eventually she found him chatting with someone dressed as Catwoman. He caught her eye and had the girl turn around "Hey, I was just talking about you," he informed them. "Look who it is," he said, presenting Catwoman to Rachel and Quinn. "We've got our own Gotham City Sirens right here!"

Even with the mask on Rachel knew who she was. She looked great, but Rachel wasn't sure that Quinn would agree. "Hey," Gabrielle offered a small wave. "You two look amazing!"

"Thank you."

"Thanks, you look great too."

"Great?" Noah scoffed. "You three are smoking!" Rachel tried to glare at Noah but he didn't seem to notice. "By far, you three are the hottest girls here. It's kind of funny how you're all wearing matching outfits."

"Actually," Gabrielle interrupted. "I wanted to come as the Black Cat. Catwoman was just my backup," she explained. "But I guess it's better this way, at least I don't have to wear a wig." She chuckled nervously. "Um… it was great seeing the two of you. I'm going to go find my friends, okay?" Speaking of friends, Rachel needed to have a talk with Noah.

She kissed Quinn lightly and asked to wait downstairs why she had Noah take her upstairs, under the guise of getting her something to drink. Rachel was still thirsty after all. But once she had quenched her thirst, Rachel decided to speak her mind. "What do you think you were doing?!" she yelled at a confused Noah.

"What are you talking about?"

"With Gabrielle," Rachel clarified but Noah still didn't understand. "Gabrielle has a crush on me, and Quinn had gotten jealous of her once." Noah laughed a little. "What's so funny?"

"Aren't you sounding a little full of yourself right now?"

"I am not! Gabrielle does have a crush on me!"

"Maybe I am a bad influence on you," Noah pondered aloud, frustrating Rachel further.

"She does!" Rachel insisted. "I wasn't sure at first, but I am now. So I'd really appreciate it if you'd try to be more careful in the future. Please Noah," she pleaded. He couldn't say no to the pout on her face. Even if Noah didn't fully believe her, he was going to go along with whatever she asked. He sighed and gave her a small hug.

"Sure thing Jew Babe."

After pulling back from the hug Rachel went back downstairs to reunite with her girlfriend. She found Quinn waiting at the same place she had last seen her. Quinn didn't look to be too happy so Rachel tried to cheer her up with a peck on the lips. She then handed her a soda that she had gotten from Noah, which Quinn gratefully accepted.

Quinn took a sip and then took Rachel by the hand. It was getting pretty warm so she led her outside into the backyard. There was an old swing set there, one that she and Noah used to play on all the time. Nowadays, it mostly only Noah's little sister that would ever use it. Quinn walked them over to it and they each took a seat. The thing had seemed so much bigger when Rachel was still a kid. It was pretty cold out, even more so due to the revealing nature of Rachel's costume, but the cool air was a nice contrast to the stuffiness of the party.

Rachel gently rocked back and forth on the swing. "I hope you're not upset," she suddenly said. She felt Quinn's gaze shift to her. "I told you before that you have nothing to be jealous about. I trust you Quinn. Do you trust me too?" For a beat there was no response. Rachel turned to Quinn and was surprised to find that she looked sadder than she had before. "Quinn? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just… I love you. I do trust you, I do."

"But?"

"Not now," Quinn requested. She leaned in close and rested her head on Rachel's shoulders. "I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise. Tonight, I just want to be with you."

"O-Okay."

They stayed there for a while, gently swinging as a cool breeze blew by. At some point Rachel shivered and Quinn saw that as a sign that they should get back inside. Quinn wrapped Rachel in her arms and escorted back inside Noah's house. When the party ended, she drove her girlfriend back home. Due to the late hour Rachel practically demanded that Quinn stay the night. Quinn didn't argue. She borrowed one of Rachel's nightgowns and slipped into bed with her. With her girlfriend nearby, it was easy for Quinn to fall asleep, but before she did Quinn kissed Rachel goodnight.


	18. Chapter 18

Almost nothing could stop Rachel from performing her morning routine… except for Quinn that is. On the occasions when Quinn had slept over Rachel put off her routine for a few minutes so she could just watch her for a little bit. She also didn't have much of a choice since Quinn had a tendency to cling onto her during the night. Her golden locks would typically be a mess and she'd usually be nuzzling into Rachel. It was in those moments that Rachel would be reminded of the fact that Quinn wasn't perfect.

Although… her hair was always perfect even when messed up. That part just wasn't fair.

Despite that Rachel tucked a loose strand of hair behind Quinn's ear. Quinn began to rouse at the feeling of Rachel's fingers brushing against her skin. She groaned lightly as she slowly opened her eyes. "Sorry," Rachel apologized. "I didn't mean to wake you." Quinn shook her head. She took Rachel's hand and brought it up to her lips, kissing her knuckles.

"It's okay…" She trailed off, lightly grasping onto Rachel's hand. She looked up into Rachel's eyes and then took a breath. "Besides, we should probably have a talk." Quinn pushed herself up into a sitting position, all the while still holding her girlfriend's hand. She looked scared, an expression that Rachel rarely ever saw on Quinn's face. Immediately, Rachel wanted to push the topic aside. She wanted to forget about the conversation before it even started.

But Rachel knew that she needed to hear whatever it was that Quinn needed to tell her. "Okay, but how about some breakfast first?"

"That would be nice… but I need to say this now or else I might chicken out." Rachel nodded her understanding. She scooted in close to help comfort her girlfriend and as a way to tell her that everything would be okay. "Okay… so as I'm sure you've figured out on your own, my mom and dad don't know about us."

"I had guessed that, yes."

"I want to tell them, I'm just not ready. I don't even know how they'd react."

"We can take our time," Rachel assured. It had been easy for her but that had been because her own parents were gay. And even then they both still worried about her. Neither of them wanted her to have to face the same issues that they had to endure growing up. "We can wait until you're ready to tell them." Quinn forced on a smile. A single tear fell from the corner of her eye. Rachel cupped her cheek and gently wiped the tear away with her thumb.

Quinn wrapped her fingers around Rachel's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "I knew you'd say that and I'm grateful that you're willing to wait, but that's not the problem." Quinn kissed the palm of Rachel's hand. "My dad worries about me since he's never seen me go out on a date with anyone. So…"

"He set you up with someone," Rachel finished for her. Quinn nodded. "Oh."

"He-he set me up with Jesse." The world seemed to stop. Everything grew silent. Rachel felt sick. Jesse. Of all the potential boys that Quinn could have been set up with it had to be Jesse. She couldn't find the words to respond. She didn't know how to respond. Rachel was angry, upset and hurt but she knew that none of this was Quinn's fault. That fact did little to help her feel better. Her body felt weak. Her hand would have dropped from her girlfriend's face if not for the grip Quinn still had on it. Tentatively, Quinn gave her palm another kiss. "Baby, talk to me."

For a moment Rachel remained silent. She looked up into Quinn's eyes. Her girlfriend was on the verge of tears. Rachel wanted to do something to cheer up her, but she felt like was about to cry as well. But still she tried, opening mouth to speak so she could comfort Quinn but no words escaped her lips. Rachel covered her mouth with her hand to fight back her sobs.

Quinn nodded dejectedly. "I'll understand it if you hate me and want to break up with me."

Rachel's head snapped up. "No," she squeaked out. "No, of course not. You were only trying to make your dad happy. I would have preferred that you told me about it first, but I can understand why you did what you did."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't upset you."

"Let's just forget about this and move on, okay?"

"It's not that easy Rachel."

"What do you mean?"

"He…" Quinn stumbled on her words. "Jesse… he... he pretty much threatened to out me."

The pain and sorrow that Rachel felt was suddenly replaced with complete and utter rage. "He what?" A few tears fell down her face; ones of anger as opposed to sadness. She got to her feet and headed to the door. "That bastard! I'll kill him!" Quickly, Quinn was upon her. Her girlfriend held her back and tried to lead Rachel back to the bed.

"Rachel, please don't."

"I can't let him get away with this!"

"If you do anything Rachel, he'll tell." Rachel stopped. Quinn was right. Confronting Jesse would do nothing but provoke him. He'd follow through with his threat. He'd out Quinn to her parents. Rachel couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let that happen. But at the same time she couldn't just stand by and let him take advantage of Quinn. But there nothing she could do. "I'm sorry Rachel. I'm so sorry," Quinn sobbed into Rachel's shoulder.

"It'll be okay," Rachel promised. "We'll get through this. Together."

For a while after that there wasn't much talk. The two of them got back into Rachel's bed and mostly just held each other. Over time though, Quinn fully explained the details. The idea of setting her up with Jesse had first come up in her father's mind the night that Jesse's family had dinner at their place. He had come to Quinn's room after their guests had left and had all but pleaded with her daughter to accept a date with him. At seeing her father's desperation, Quinn couldn't say no. She knew that he only had her best interest in heart, and bad-mouthing the son of one of his best friends was completely out of the question.

Jesse knew how to play his part when needed. As far as Russell and Judy saw, Jesse was the perfect gentleman, a fine match for their daughter. Quinn had gone out with him as agreed. She put up with him for a night where all he did was brag about this or that. Just hearing about it would have made Rachel gag if not for her lack of a gag reflex. When her father asked how it went Quinn hid her disgust with Jesse and acted as though she had a pleasant time, while also saying that she wasn't sure if she would go out with him again in the future.

It was all supposed to be over after that, and for a while it seemed that way. But then one day Jesse came over and asked Quinn out on another date. Since her parents weren't in earshot, Quinn laughed in his face. That was until he decided to subtly mention Rachel. At that point he had her full attention. His intentions were clear even if he chose not to speak straight. When he left, Jesse told Quinn to call him if she changed her mind.

There was no actual deal made but the choices were clear; stay with Rachel and be outed, or cheat on Rachel and play along with Jesse's sick game. Rachel would have been okay if Quinn simply needed a beard, someone to show off to her parents. There were plenty of guys at school who could fit the role perfectly; guys who wouldn't take advantage of her. She'd probably get a little jealous from time to time, but Rachel would learn to get over it. Things weren't that simple though, and getting a friend from school to pretend to be her boyfriend would do nothing to help.

For once in her life Rachel wanted to resort to violence. She wanted to march straight up to Jesse and knock his lights out. Admittedly, she probably wouldn't be able to knock him out so easily but she'd at least have Noah for backup and maybe even Finn, Sam and the rest of the football team. And the only thing that stopped her from calling them up and gathering them together was the fact that Quinn needed her.

"What do you want to do?" Rachel asked once Quinn was finished. It wasn't until after she had spoken that she realized that she had made a poor choice upon her words. Regardless of what she chose to do, it wouldn't be something that Quinn would want to do. "What do you think we should do?" Quinn forced on a small smile at the acknowledgment that they were in this together. She took a deep breath. Rachel wasn't sure which answer she preferred, but the one she was given surprised her.

"I want to tell my parents."

"Quinn… you don't have to."

"I want to." The way her voice cracked seemed to say otherwise. "I always knew that I'd have to tell them eventually. I just hoped that I'd have more time and that I'd be able to tell them when I knew I was ready. I'm not sure that I am," she admitted. "But I'd rather tell them myself rather than have that asshole out me." She started to cry and Rachel pulled her into a hug. After holding onto her for just a few seconds, tears began to fall from Rachel's eyes as well. "Would you come along with me? It'd be easier with you there." Rachel simply nodded and held her girlfriend tighter.

There was no discussion about when Quinn wanted to come out to her parents and Rachel didn't want to ask. She didn't want to force the topic, especially since Quinn was practically being forced into making her decision. Besides, it was clear that she wasn't planning on coming out to them on that day. For the rest of the day Rachel just wanted them to be happy, or at least try to be. Eventually, Rachel spoke to her dads. Regardless of what happened with her parents, Quinn was guaranteed to have a place to stay.

The guestroom would be open to her, or if she chose, she could sleep in Rachel's room just as she would whenever she stayed over. Rachel offered to have Quinn stay over another night, but Quinn refused. She wanted to assure that she'd be able to sleep in her own bed at least one last time. She wanted to hug her mom and dad, and tell them that she loved them. She wanted them to say that they loved her back.

She needed to hear them say it, to give herself some assurance that they wouldn't just turn their backs on her once they learned that she was gay. And she needed at least one last happy memory to go with the possible rejected that was likely to come. Regardless of how they would end up reacting, Quinn would always love her parents. But she wasn't going to deny how she felt about Rachel and she wasn't going to give her up.

Maybe she was being naïve. She probably was. But Quinn knew that Rachel was special, that she was the love of her life. Sure they were young and they hadn't been together long but sometimes you just meet someone and you get this feeling and you just know. Rachel was her soulmate.


	19. Chapter 19

It took a lot of convincing to get Noah to back down once Rachel called him informed him about what Jesse had done. He wanted to hurt him, badly. Rachel so wanted to let him do as he pleased but she needed him to wait for a least a little while. She promised that once Quinn had the chance to come out to her parents that Noah could do whatever he wanted. Noah reluctantly agreed to her terms.

He would end up dropping her off at Quinn's house the following morning. After which he decided to drive around the block just in case he was needed. Rachel hoped that he wouldn't be. She gave Quinn a call to inform her that she was there and ensure that it was her girlfriend that answered the door. Quinn quickly got up and headed downstairs. She opened the door and greeted her with a hug. They both fought the urge to kiss each other despite the fact that neither of Quinn's parents were around.

"They're in the kitchen," Quinn told her, to which Rachel could only nod. "Mom's making breakfast and dad's reading the paper," she explained. Rachel could see that she was shaking. She reached out for her hand and gave it a gently squeeze. Quinn turned to look at her.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" Rachel asked. "Maybe we should wait, at least a little bit," suggested. "That way you could at least get something in your stomach." Quinn pondered the option for a second but then quickly shook her head.

"No, I need to do this now." She tried to keep her voice steady, tried to sound strong and confident, but it was clear that she was terrified. Her eyes were red. Either she'd been crying or wasn't able to sleep the previous night. Rachel felt that it was a combination of both. "Besides, if things go badly I might end up throwing everything up anyway."

"Don't think like that. Everything will be fine," Rachel assured.

"Yeah," Quinn nodded. "I'm sure you're right." With one last look to Rachel, Quinn started leading her girlfriend to the kitchen. Their steps were soft, quiet. They gradually made their way towards Quinn's parents. It was the sound of Quinn's first step upon the tile of the kitchen that finally got Judy's attention. She looked over her shoulder at her daughter and flashed a smile upon seeing that she had a guest with her.

She paused in her cooking and turned fully towards them. "Quinn, why didn't you tell me that you were having company over?"

"I'm sorry mom," Quinn apologized. "It was kind of last minute."

"No harm done I suppose. Feel free to take a seat Rachel. I was just making some breakfast what would you like?" Judy asked as she returned to the stove.

"Nothing, thank you," Rachel politely declined, still standing directly beside Quinn.

"Nonsense," Russell cut in, getting up from his seat and giving Rachel a big pat on the back. "You're on the football team. You need to keep your strength up." He brought her over to the table and had her sit down right next to him, with Quinn sitting beside Rachel. "Still keeping that winning streak up?"

"Yes sir." Again he gave her a pat on the back.

"That's good to hear. The Titans haven't had a star player like you in a while."

Rachel put on a smile. She liked Quinn's parents. Russell had been initially skeptical about having a girl, a vegan girl no less, on the football team. But eventually he grew to be one of Rachel's greatest supporters, although he still didn't understand the veganism. Judy on the other hand had instantly adored Rachel. She liked knowing that her daughter had smart, polite and loyal friend. She didn't much approve of the football though.

It was difficult for Rachel to imagine seeing either of them rejecting Quinn just because she was gay. But Quinn was afraid that they might and so Rachel knew that it was at least a possibility. And it was because of that fear that Rachel was there. She glanced over at her girlfriend. Quinn nodded, answering her unasked question. Quinn stood up from her seat, Rachel following quickly after.

"Mom, dad," she started. "I have something to tell you." Once more Judy paused in her cooking and Russell put down his paper. They both brought the attention to Quinn and waited. Instinctively, Rachel tried to place herself in front of her girlfriend to shield her from what might happen but Quinn reacted in turn and stepped past Rachel. She looked at her and shook her head. "Mom, dad, I'm gay."

"Gay?" her father questioned, his tone even and calm. Aside from surprise, his expression was emotionless. It was impossible to tell what he was feeling. "What about Jesse?"

"I don't care about Jesse!" Quinn all but screamed. "He's an arrogant jerk who thinks he's better than everyone. I only went out with him to make you happy, and then afterwards he threatened to out me." A few tears fell down her face but Quinn quickly wiped them away. "I know you think he's a great guy but he's not. And even if he were I wouldn't be interested because I'm already with someone." It took not a moment for everything to click into place. Russell's gaze darted over to Rachel. Judy was also looking at her as well. "Rachel's my girlfriend. We've been seeing each other for a while. I love her daddy."

Russell looked away and brought his head down and buried his face into his hands. He took in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. When his eyes rose, Russell was once again fully composed. "Rachel, can you leave us alone for a moment?" he requested sternly without looking directly at her. Rachel stood firm. She had promised to stand by Quinn through all of this and she was going to do just that. "Please," he tried once more.

"No," Rachel answered. "I'm not leaving her."

"Rachel, please." It was Judy who insisted that time.

"No," Quinn told her mother. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say to Rachel," she explained to her parents, her voice quavering just slightly. "And if you're going to kick me out then just do it now so we can get this over with."

Judy gasped and raced over to her. "We would never." She tentatively went to hug her daughter. "Y-your father and I love you," she assured. "I-I… This is just… It's just such a shock. How can you be sure?" Judy asked desperately. "Maybe you're just confused, right Russell?" she suggested as she turned to her husband who at the time was gently massaging his forehead.

"I'm gay, mom. I know that I am," Quinn insisted. "But does that really change anything? Should that change anything?"

After a breath, Judy shook her head. "No. No, that doesn't change anything." Quinn's lips curved upward just a little bit. At her mom didn't reject her. She hugged her tightly while telling her how much she loved her. Once she pulled back, Judy turned to address her husband. "She's still our daughter Russell. This might take some getting used to, but she's still our daughter." Russell sighed and appeared to nod ever so slightly

"Daddy?" You know I'll always be your little girl, right?" Quinn tried. "The one that used to sneak into bed with you and mom whenever she had a nightmare, and the one that you'd always cook extra strips of bacon for. Remember, it was always our little secret? Nothing's changed dad. I still love you. Don't you love me back?"

Russell continued to nod with every word that Quinn said, and when she was done he pulled her in and held her close. "Of course I do," he said just above a whisper before kissing the top of her head. Russell then pulled Judy into the hug and after a while he got Rachel as well. "You'll take care of our daughter, won't you?"

"I will," Rachel chocked out. "But I don't think she really needs any taking care of." She found herself crying. Her tears of joy spilled along Quinn's back. Somehow everything worked out. She was still mad about Jesse, still wanted to hurt him. But for the time being she was content. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, but Rachel didn't really mind. It felt nice.

When they finally did break apart, Judy made herself some tea and took a seat in the living room. Whatever she was cooking would have to wait. She still had some processing that needed to be done. Russell headed in the opposite direction, towards the front door. Quinn chased after him, which in turned led to Rachel following after her.

"Dad, where are you going?"

"Nowhere," he answered briefly. "I have something to take care of."

"Dad, if this is about Jesse please don't." Quinn got in front of him and tried to block him off.

"Why? He deserves to be taught a lesson."

"He does, I know that," Quinn agreed. "But I don't want you to get in trouble for hurting him."

Russell stopped. "Fine," he sighed. "But you needed to make sure that the Titans crush him the next time you play against him," he told Rachel. She was more than willing to comply with his request.

"I'll make sure of it," she promised. Rachel would never let anyone get away with hurting her girlfriend. She'd make him regret what he did, and with a little help from her teammates she planned to make sure that his face would be buried in the turf for most of the night. The only problem was that the Titans wouldn't be facing the Cobras again for another couple of weeks. Rachel would just have to wait to get her payback.

When their hug ended there was more talking. Rachel briefly excused herself so she could call Noah and tell him that everything was okay and that he could leave. He didn't initially, wanting to make sure but after Rachel assured him repeatedly Noah finally left. He didn't say anything about where he would be going but Rachel assumed that he would try to find Jesse. At that thought, she sent him a text asking him to stay safe.

Rachel knew that Noah could handle Jesse, but she didn't want him doing something stupid. He texted back soon after, telling her that he would. There was little more that Rachel could do other than hope that he'd stick to his promise. Otherwise she'd end up having to give him a stern talking to if he wound up getting himself hurt.

She back into the living room where Quinn was still talking with her parents. The shock had yet to wear off. Rachel sat down next to Quinn and took a hold of her hand. She fought the urge to nuzzle up close to her. Like Judy had said, it would take some getting used to. Russell and Judy would now see their displays of affection for what they were. She didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable, and she could already tell that they were.

Rachel never had to worry about coming out, but she had talked to her dads about it. They had explained things to her. She could guess how Russell and Judy were feeling. She understood how they felt like certain dreams they had for their daughter were being crushed; things like attending Quinn's wedding, and having grandchildren. Those things were still possible, but now they were different and uncertain… or at least they were to Quinn's parents.

After a while Russell and Judy left to go to their bedroom so that they could talk in private. Quinn and Rachel went up to Quinn's room, where they were now required to keep the door open. Neither of them minded, especially since they weren't planning on doing anything like that anytime soon. Once they were there Quinn plopped down onto her bed. She grabbed Lambchop and hugged him tightly. Rachel slipped into bed behind her.

"I feel exhausted," Quinn breathed out. She then rolled over and pulled Rachel in for a hug. "Thanks for being here," she whispered in her ear, her lips briefly lingering upon her Rachel's cheek as Quinn pulled back. "I'm not sure I could have done that without you."

"Yes you could have."

"Maybe," Quinn shrugged. "I'm still glad you were here." With a sigh of relief she rolled onto her back, grabbing Rachel by the waist and pulling her along as well so that her girlfriend was lying onto of her. "Everything worked out and now I don't have to hide my beautiful girlfriend from my parents." She leaned up to kiss her girlfriend but Rachel pulled back. "What's wrong?" Quinn asked, cupping Rachel's cheek.

"Nothing, it's just that we're squishing Lambchop," Rachel pointed out. She reached in between them and pulled him out. "See?"

"Oh. I'm sorry Lambchop," she apologized, kissing him atop his fluffy head. She gently placed him down beside her and went back to trying to kiss her girlfriend. That time Rachel had no objections, initially. But then she suddenly pulled back once more. "What's wrong now?" Quinn asked worriedly. Instead of answering Rachel simply turned Lambchop around so that he couldn't see. Quinn giggled at her.

"What? I feel uncomfortable having Lambchop see me do things to his mommy."

Quinn laughed again. "You are so adorkable, and I love you for that."


	20. Chapter 20

It was the day. After weeks of playing against other teams, the Titans were going to face off against the Cobras again. They were still undefeated and Rachel had no intentions of letting their winning streak end anytime soon. Aside from her typical competitive attitude, she also had a score to settle. Rachel was never a vengeful person, but what Jesse had done was more than just an attack upon her; it was also an attack upon Quinn. She wouldn't let him get away with that.

After a nice, hearty breakfast she was out the door where her girlfriend had just arrived to pick her up. Quinn got out of the car to greet her and gave Rachel a quick peck on the lips. "Hey," she murmured as she pulled back. "You ready for the game later tonight?"

"Jesse St. Jerkface isn't going to know what hit him. Actually, he will know. He'll know that it was me that knocked him flat on his butt." She earned a laugh out of Quinn, but then she let out a small groan and placed a hand on her stomach. "What is it? What's wrong?" Rachel asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Quinn assured. "It's just a bit of an upset stomach. Nothing to worry about, okay?"

"Okay, but if you need anything-"

"I'll come find you," Quinn finished for her. "I will." She led Rachel to her car and drove them to school. Once there she walked Rachel to class and gave her another kiss before going to her own first period. It would be an easy going day. After talking with her teammates Rachel came to the conclusion that most, if not all, of the faculty had come to an agreement to not put any additional pressure on the football team during their classes for the day. None of them had any tests, assignments due, or anything else of the sort.

While a win wasn't vital from them to advance to the playoffs, beating the best team in the district a second time was a goal that all of McKinley was aiming for. Rachel didn't necessarily approve of such an action; she would have preferred to do some actually learning during school, but she appreciated the opportunity to relax. The lack of work also gave Rachel the chance to keep a close eye on her girlfriend.

Despite her insistence that it was just a bit of an upset stomach, Rachel worried about her. She knew that she had to focus on the game but Quinn's wellbeing was far more important to her. Quinn seemed fine. But once or twice, when she thought her girlfriend wasn't looking, Rachel saw her groaning and clutching her stomach. And later on towards the end of the day she had to go to the nurse. Once she had a chance, Rachel went to see her.

Upon seeing her girlfriend, Rachel rushed to her side. "Oh Quinn, are you okay?" She sat down on the bed that Quinn was lying down on and leaned in to give her a big hug. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"It's nothing Rach. Really, you don't-"

"Don't even think about telling me not to worry," Rachel interrupted. "I already am worrying. Now tell me what's wrong," she pleaded.

Quinn averted her eyes away out of shame. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I was just trying to do something for you."

"By getting sick?"

"No. No, that's not it," Quinn answered, quickly shaking her head. "For the past few days I've been changing up my diet," she explained. "No meat. At first I felt fine, but today… well, I guess I don't have to explain about today."

"Oh, Quinn. You should have been more careful, taken things more slowly," Rachel chastised worriedly. She hugged her girlfriend again.

"I know, I know. I guess I just got a little ahead of myself."

Rachel nodded her understanding as she brushed some of Quinn's hair and tucked it behind her ear. "I appreciate what you were trying to do. It was really sweet, but you don't have to change for me. You know that, right? I love you just the way you are."

"I know you do. I wanted to try," she assured.

"Okay. Let's get you home, all right?" Rachel said as she tried to help Quinn to her feet.

"What? No!" Quinn tugged back to keep Rachel sitting on the bed. "Don't be silly Rachel, you have a game to get ready for," she reminded. "You can't risk ruining your perfect season. And remember, you promised my dad that you'd crush them. Besides, I feel a lot better now after I threw up." Quinn's reasoning was solid, but still Rachel wanted to make sure that she was okay. She cupped her cheek and examined her closely. "I'm fine Rachel," Quinn insisted. "I won't even get in trouble with Sue since she's away on some of business that she won't tell us about. So get ready for the game, okay? I'll be out in a bit."

"If you're sure," Rachel replied to give Quinn one last out.

"I am. Now go." Rachel leaned in for a kiss but Quinn stopped her and pushed her back. "Rachel, don't. I threw up earlier." Rachel frowned but backed away. "We can kiss later; I keep a share toothbrush in my Cheerios duffle." Rachel settled for a hug and planted a kiss on Quinn's cheek before heading out towards the field and into the locker room. She quickly got changed before jogging outside to meet up with her team.

Right outside the door Noah was waiting for her. Their eyes met. No words were said. All he did was nod and then give her a big hug. After he pulled back, Noah made sure that Rachel's helmet was on securely before giving her a light headbutt. He would often headbutt their teammates after scoring a touchdown, albeit with more strength. Rachel decided to headbutt him back a little harder. She recoiled a bit and he lightly laughed at her.

Rachel readjusted her helmet and Noah led her into the boys' locker room. Rachel felt odd as she entered but Coach Beiste wanted to give the team a little pep talk. She looked them all over before speaking. "When we started this year, I hate to say it but… we sucked. That's not to say that any of you do, because you don't. The problem was that you stopped working as a team; you lost faith in each other, and after the losses that we've had I can't blame you if you did lose faith. But then this year Rachel here decided to try out for the team, and I gotta be honest with you, I was absolutely terrified for her. But she proved me wrong. Hell, she proved everybody wrong!" The team gave off a collective shout. "And just like that you all started to believe, not only in each other but yourselves too. And where did that lead us?"

"To an undefeated season Coach!" The team yelled again.

"And now were facing the Cobras again. Are you going to let them end your streak?"

"No way!"

"What was that?!"

"We're gonna crush them Coach!"

"We'll pulverize them!"

"Hands in!" Coach Beiste ordered. "Titans on three. One. Two. Three."

"Titans!"

They ran out to the field. Across the way Rachel could see Jesse. He didn't look too happy, but given the fact that his plan had completely backfired it made sense that he was at least a little bit upset. She glared at him, but as far as Rachel could tell, he was ignoring her. That was fine though. If Rachel had her way then he wouldn't be able to ignore her for long. The team captains for each team met in the middle for the coin toss. The Cobras won and chose to receive. Jesse was saved, at least for a while.

After a deep kick the Cobras signaled for a fair catch, much to the distaste of the fans in the stands. At the twenty the started off with a run, gaining only three yards. A failed pass on third down and a completed one on third gained them a first down. And a few plays later they managed to get past the fifty yard line. But that's were the Cobra offense was stopped, being forced to punt the ball at fourth and four. A decent return gave the Titans some yardage.

Their offense hit the field. Rachel wanted the ball but they knew that the Cobras would be expecting that and thus went for a short pass to Mike. As the ball was snapped one of the Cobra linebackers went in on a blitz, which could have been awful if the Titans had decided to go on the ground, but instead Mike ended up being wide open. What should have been a short gain ended up getting them a first down.

Sadly, the Titans weren't so lucky on their second play. Finn went for a pass in the other direction, but it went slightly high. Noah was forced to jump for it and while he was in mid-air he tackled hard. He was okay but he couldn't keep his grip on the ball. Aside from their initial mistake the Cobra defense was going strong. They halted the Titans just short of field goal distance. Halfway through the first quarter and the scoreboard was still empty. But it wouldn't be that way for long. Using all their weapons the Cobras slowly, but steadily made their way down the field. The Titans managed to slow their advance, but quickly enough.

With less than three minutes left on the clock the Cobras scored their first points of the night with a field goal. It was only three points though, and there were still three full quarters left. Rachel was fully determined to score once she got back on the field. After a one passing play she was given her chance. The offensive line broke open a hole for her to run through. On the other side of it was Jesse. Rachel probably could have gotten around him. It wasn't very likely, but it was possible.

But Rachel didn't want to. Anger surged through her body. She was going to make him pay. Rachel ran straight forward, bracing herself for the hit. She wasn't strong enough to run right through him. She knew that much, but if she was going down then she was going to take him down with her. And Rachel did just that, knocking Jesse flat on his butt. She could hear him groan as her teammates yelled and helped her back up. She wanted to rub it in, but they had a game to win and it clear that he was embarrassed about being taken down by a girl.

Rachel had to smirk. She felt pretty proud of herself. Her next run came two plays later, where she helped move the chains. The first quarter ended before they could score. The Titans had good position though and unless they gave up a turnover they were guaranteed at least a field goal. But on a play-action pass Finn managed to get the ball into the end zone. Rachel had to take a hit for that one, but look on the defender's face when he realized that she didn't have the ball was totally worth the pain.

And so, early on in the second quarter the Titans took the lead. Their defense held strong and once more gave the Cobras nothing more than a field goal during their next drive, and as such they still trailed the Titans by one point. Unfortunately, the Cobras did manage to run down the clock thus preventing the Titans from scoring once more before the end of the half. If the Titans had scored they would have had the chance to make the game a two score game since they were getting procession back at the start of the second half.

Although they were winning they would have liked the extra breathing room. At the start of the second the Cobras kicked the ball off. Mike received it at the far end of the field. After a decent run it looked as though he would be taken down near the twenty, but somehow he miraculously was able to stay on his feet and kept running. The Titans on the sidelines and the crowd got on their feet and cheered him on. Mike kept running, swearing left and spinning right. He got far but was stopped soon after passing the fifty.

But the momentum he built up stayed with the entire Titan team. They seemingly mowed down the Cobra defense. And at first and ten at the sixteen a pass went flying straight towards the end zone. Rachel wrapped her hands around the ball. The ref called the touchdown, but not a second later she felt the hit. She was being flipped through the air. Her sense went numb. She could just barely make out the sound of Quinn's voice calling out her name. "Rachel!" Quinn ran towards her girlfriend. She still felt a bit ill, but that discomfort was nothing compared to the pain she felt upon seeing Rachel getting hurt. She raced towards him but then felt someone wrap their arms around her. She looked at who it was and then punched him. "Let me go Puck! She needs me! Rachel!"

"Quinn you don't want to see this!" Noah tried to reason as Quinn fought out of his grasp.

"She needs me!" she insisted. "Let go!" Quinn stomped on his foot causing him to let go and thus give her the chance to check up on Rachel. She was clutching onto her side, tears streaming down her face despite how much she tried to fight them. "Hey baby, it's okay. It's okay, all right? I'm here now."

"It hurts."

"I know, I know. But everything is going to be okay now. Okay baby? Everything's going to be okay. I love you, baby. I love you so much. Everything's going to be fine. I'm here now. You're safe now, Rachel. Nothing can hurt you."


	21. Chapter 21

Quinn fought the tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes as she sat in the waiting room. Rachel was so small, so tiny. That hit should have torn her in half; it should have crushed her, or at least that's what Quinn's mind told her. She didn't want to listen to that. Quinn wanted to believe that Rachel would be perfectly fine, but considering the fact that she was sitting in a waiting room that possibility was highly unlikely. Rachel had been in so much pain. She was barely able to move. It had been hard to look at her while she was in such agony, but Rachel needed her.

After the ambulance came Quinn drove after it with Brittany and Santana coming along for the ride to make sure that, not only Rachel, but that Quinn too was okay. That left Gabrielle in charge of the Cheerios. She looked as terrified as everyone else, but she put on a strong face and said that she'd come by to check up on Rachel after the game. Puck had wanted to come along too, but he also wanted to teach Jesse a lesson.

Puck was torn, but Quinn made him promise to make Jesse pay and she'd make sure that Rachel was taken care of. Of course there was really nothing she could do but sit and wait. Brittany and Santana were sitting on either of her. They had been consistently giving her assurances that Rachel would be up and be her natural loud and annoying self in no time. Quinn smiled at their attempts to make her feel better, and they did succeed if only by a little bit.

Both Quinn's and Rachel's parents were also there. In the car, Brittany and Santana had made some calls while Quinn focused on the road. They were all as equally worried as she was. Her father looked the most composed except he couldn't find it in him to sit down. Russell paced back and force, periodically checking the clock on the wall. Quinn refused to do the same. It already had been too long since she had seen her girlfriend. Finding out exactly how long would only prove to make things worse.

Time seemed to slow down and yet it felt like so much of it had just passed them by. It was almost as though it had been hours until the doctor finally came out. They all huddled around him, nervously awaiting the news he had. Quinn listened intently but he said that Rachel would be okay she drowned out most everything else he had to say. All that mattered was that her girlfriend was alive and that she'd be, after some healing, perfectly okay.

The doctor told them that Rachel had broken some ribs; a few had only been slightly fractured. She was awake and so they could visit her but the doctor requested that they go in small groups. Her dads went in first and Quinn went back to her seat. Brittany and Santana were back at her sides. She took a hold of both of their hands. "Thanks for being here," she told them.

"Of course we'd be here," Brittany said. "We'll always be there for you."

"Yeah," Santana agreed. "We know you care about her, and she's not that bad."

Rachel's dads didn't take too to check in on their daughter. They wanted her to get her rest and they knew that there were plenty of other people who wanted to make sure that she was all right. Once they exited they went over to Quinn and told her that Rachel had asked for her. Quinn simply nodded and got to her feet. Brittany and Santana asked if she wanted their company, but Quinn declined. She went over to the room where her girlfriend was and walked inside. The moment she saw her, Quinn couldn't stop herself. She ran over to Rachel and took her into a big hug. Rachel smiled and hugged her back but then she groaned in pain.

"Ow!"

Quinn immediately pulled back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she apologized quickly. "I was just so worried and I was so happy to see you." She reached out slowly and gently cupped her face. "It's just that- I'm just…" The words got lost in her throat. Tears streamed down her face. "I'm just so happy to know that you're okay."

"I'm sorry I worried you."

"Don't be; it wasn't you're fault." Quinn went to hug Rachel again but she stopped before fully wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "Is it okay?" she asked. "I'll be more careful this time." Rachel nodded and then pulled Quinn in for a hug. Quinn kissed the side of her face and when she pulled back she gave her another kiss on the lips. "Are you hungry? I can go and find you something to eat while other people visit; there's lot of them waiting out there and I'm pretty sure the game should be over by now so the team should be coming by soon too."

"I'm not that hungry, but okay. Don't be too long."

"I'll be back before you know it."

Quinn went down to the cafeteria. There was a decent selection but, after making sure that it was vegan friendly, Quinn just got Rachel some pudding cups. She just wanted to ensure that Rachel had something in her stomach and if she wanted something more than Quinn would happily get her some more food. Brittany and Santana were in Rachel's room when Quinn got back there so she took a seat in the waiting room while they talked.

It wasn't soon later until Puck showed up. He looked to be a little worse for wear, like he'd been in a fight. Quinn was almost certain that that had been the case. He walked over to her and asked how Rachel was. Once Quinn informed him that she would be okay he breathed out a sigh of relief. Exhausted, he collapsed into the seat beside her. He said something about how the rest of the team would be over as soon as they could while also implying that he may have broken a few laws while on his own way to the hospital. "That fucker's lucky that she's going to be all right." Quinn simply nodded.

"I hope you taught him a lesson."

"Yeah," Puck confirmed. "Might have given him a black eye," he added with a shrug. "Not really sure. Things got kind of intense. All I know for sure that it that everyone was aiming to kick the crap out of him. Wouldn't be too surprised we end up seeing him rolled up being rolled up here in a stretcher." Quinn couldn't tell if and how much Puck was exaggerating, but didn't care to ask him. A brief silence fell over them until Quinn decided to break it.

"You know, I used to think that you and Rachel were together," she told him, earning a disbelieving stare. "The two of you were practically inseparable. You have no idea how jealous I was, especially with the way that you'd shamelessly flirt with every girl on the squad."

"Guess that explains why I always got the feeling that you hated me."

"I wouldn't use the word hate, but… yeah and I'm sorry," she apologized.

"It's in the past," Puck reasoned, shoving the topic aside. "Besides, I never took it personally. It would have been nice to know though." He shook his head a little. "Wouldn't have had to have gone through with this crazy plan of hers if she only knew you liked her; and she's supposed to be the smart one. I knew that I should have never gotten her onto the team."

"Hey, this isn't your fault. It's..." The words never left her throat because at that moment she saw him. Rage burned inside her. Quinn got up and marched straight to him. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could Quinn slapped him across the face. "What do you think you're doing here?" Jesse rubbed his cheek and shook off the stinging pain that he must have felt.

"I'm here to check up on Rachel," he explained with an even tone.

"Why? So you can see how badly she's hurt?" Quinn accused with venom in her voice. She could hear footsteps and while she couldn't see them, Quinn knew that everyone was standing behind her. "Rachel doesn't want to see you so why don't you leave?"

"It's not even like that!" Jesse all but yelled, clearly offended. "I didn't even hit her."

"I saw what happened. I know you didn't hit her," Quinn pointed out. "But you have to think I'm stupid if you actually believe that I don't know that you have something to do with what happened back there." Quinn balled her fists. "Rachel could have been broken in half. She could have been killed." Puck held her back and stepped in front of her.

"Why don't you just do what she says?" he suggested, trying his best to sound calm and collected. He stared Jesse down, using just the slightest amount of intimidation to coax him into leaving. Jesse was stubborn though and he refused to move. Quinn could tell that since they were in a hospital that Puck was trying his hardest not to punch Jesse right in the face, but his patience was wearing thin. And Puck was never the most patient guy to begin with. It almost looked like things were going to take a violent turn when Russell stepped in between the two of them.

"Jesse, why don't you and I have a little talk?" he asked while subtly leading him away. Quinn silently thanked her dad. She watched the two of them round a corner and then, after a few moments, heard a loud groan. Russell then reappeared from the hallway that they had gone into. She could see him shaking his hand as she approached.

"What did you just do daddy?"

"Jesse and I just had a nice chat sweetheart," he told her. "I explained to him the difference between right and wrong." He gave a small nod. "I think he learned a valuable lesson." Quinn smiled at him and checked on him hand. "It's nothing," he said as he pulled his hand back. "I can take of it, and don't you have a girlfriend you need to feed." He pointed to the pudding cups that Quinn had left by her seat.

"Yeah… yeah, I guess I do." Before she left, Quinn gave her dad a big hug. "Thank you." Once she was done Quinn retrieved the snack that she had gotten for Rachel and went back into her room. Quinn sat at Rachel's bedside while she fed her the pudding. Despite claiming that she wasn't hungry, Rachel ended up asking for more and Quinn was glad that she had brought extra. Admittedly, there was a part of Quinn that thought that Rachel just liked the idea of being fed pudding by her girlfriend.

After finishing the second cup Puck poked his head in and upon noticing that Quinn was already inside decided to quickly back out, but Rachel had other ideas. "Noah?" she called. "It's okay Noah, you can come in. Quinn doesn't mind, do you baby?"

"No, it's okay," Quinn assured as she picked up another pudding cup. She gestured to it to see if Rachel wanted some more and after some thought her girlfriend eagerly nodded her head. Quinn giggled and opened it up. "You can come in Puck, I'm just feeding her." He came back inside slowly walked over to her, just barely able to look her in the eye.

"How you feeling Jew Babe?"

"I'm okay. Doctor says that I won't be able to play, but I'm okay. How about you, are you okay?"

"Fine," he shrugged, to which Rachel frowned. She tried to sit up but the movement only caused her some pain and she gave out a groan. Quinn and Puck quickly helped her back onto her back. "Hey, hey, hey. Just lie down Rach; you shouldn't be exerting yourself."

"And you shouldn't be lying to me," Rachel argued. She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "I would have gotten on the team one way or another Noah," she pointed out. "It might have ended up taking more time, but I'd have found a way." Noah let out a small chuckle and nodded. Given the amount of determination that Rachel, it wasn't hard to believe that she would have. Quinn got another spoonful of pudding and fed it to her girlfriend. She then kissed her on the cheek and on her forehead. Rachel really was amazing.

Beside then, Noah sighed. He gave himself a light punch on the arm. "Ow."

"Hey, that's my job!" They all laughed for a bit until Rachel felt a stinging in her abdomen. Quinn and Puck leaned in to check on her but she assured them that that she was fine. "Did we win?" she asked.

"Yeah," Puck nodded. "We scored two more touchdown and they got nothing. Speaking of which." He quickly ducked out of the room only to return soon after with a football in hand. He handed it to Rachel. "It's the game ball," he told them. The team agreed that you should have it." In awe, Rachel could hardly form words. "Don't even think about refusing. It's yours. You deserve it." Rachel smiled a tearful smile.

"I don't know what to say. Tell the team thanks."

"Sure thing Jew Babe." He gave her a soft hug. "I'll give you two some private time."

Rachel examined the ball closing after he left. There was nothing special about it and yet there still was. Quinn could tell that Rachel would cherish greatly, but also thought that it would look quite out of place sitting next to one of Rachel's Care Bears. She fed her another spoonful of pudding. "The game ball, huh? My girl's a real stud, isn't she?" she asked, earning a grin and a kiss on the lips.


	22. Chapter 22

Rachel didn't end up staying in the hospital for long, for which she was very grateful. After the doctors ensured that she was healing properly she was free to go home. Quinn came along with her. It was nice to have her girlfriend around, but the pain from her ribs made cuddling a bit difficult. They had to be really careful about it. Sleeping was also quite bad but thankfully Quinn wasn't the kind of person to usually toss and turn while asleep. Once they found a position that was comfortable for the both of them the rest of the night would usually go by nicely.

Quinn insisted on staying over for a couple of days, or longer if need be. She babied Rachel a bit, doing everything she could so that her girlfriend would be comfortable. The pain wasn't that awful that Rachel was unable to do anything but she allowed Quinn to coddle her because she knew that it made Quinn feel better. Quinn was by her side almost all the time and so it was a surprise when Rachel received a bit of a party when they got home after their first day back at school since the game.

It was too loud or exciting, but all her friends were there and that's what mattered. She was disappointed to tell them that she wouldn't be able to play any longer. The news had already traveled so most, if not all, of the team already knew but Rachel wanted to say it herself. They promised that they'd win the championship for her. They felt like they owed her that much. They hung out for a while. Noah had decided to bring his Xbox along so that they'd be able to do something that wouldn't force Rachel to exert herself too much.

But the fact that she'd often yell at the television just happened to slip his mind. The pain wasn't too intense, but Rachel had to stop after a while. And there was also the fact that she was kind of embarrassed about having Quinn see her screaming over a video game. She let the boys have their fun while the girls headed up to her room. Just for fun, Quinn scooped Rachel into her arms, bridal style, and carried her up there. Santana made a gagging sound, but pretended that she hadn't once Brittany let out an "Aw!"

Still, it was hard for Santana not to recoil slightly upon entering Rachel's room. She had been there before but she had never quite gotten used to how bright it was or by how many Care Bears there were. But a glare from Quinn and a pout from Brittany was all that was needed to ensure that she kept her mouth shut. It was just the four of them plus Gabrielle, which made things feel a bit awkward but aside from some of Santana's snarky comments there was little uneasiness between them.

Gabrielle was her normal self, or at least her normal self around Rachel. And that meant that she was a bit shy and quiet. Like everyone else she was really happy that Rachel was okay and she had even gotten her some flowers along with a handmade card. Rachel wouldn't have guessed it but Gabrielle was quite the artist and her penmanship was impeccable. It was really sweet of her. Thankfully, Quinn didn't get over possessive of her or at the very least she didn't show it if she did.

It was nice, having some girl time. Since joining the team Rachel had mostly been hanging out with the guys or just spending time with Quinn. A change of pace was good for her. And now that she wouldn't be able to play she'd actually be able to have more girl time. At least there was that. Rachel tried to look on the bright side. She really wanted to be there, on the field, when the Titans won that championship. And, while it was likely just her competitive side, she really enjoyed playing the game.

Rachel didn't necessarily love the game and given the choice she'd always pick Broadway over football, but she liked to think that she had gotten to know her best friend a little better playing alongside him. She could only hope that the team could still win without her. Rachel knew that the Titans were a good team so long as they believed in themselves, but she was worried about how well they could do without a decent running back to give them some options.

That would come later though. For the time being she could just relax. At some point her closet got opened and the girls started discussing her choice in clothing. Santana though that most everything she owned was atrocious and argued that the best part of her wardrobe was Quinn's Cheerios jacket. Brittany too judged her clothing a bit. She thought some of her stuff was cute but thought that Rachel needed some more sexy clothes. At which point she ended up getting a great idea.

Brittany quickly sped out of the room, Santana in tow, after asking Rachel about her size. That left Rachel alone with her girlfriend and Gabrielle. There was a moment of silence before Gabby got to her feet. She smiled at them nervously and waved. "I guess I should go," she quickly said before heading for the door. She got as far as a step before Quinn called out for her.

"Stop," she said and Gabrielle did. Quinn waited until Gabby turned to them before continuing. "Things don't have to be weird between us and I'm sorry for being a bit cold towards you recently. I was being an overprotective girlfriend and I apologize for that. Forgive me?" Gabrielle looked surprised. She looked back and forth between and Rachel and Quinn's face before giving off a genuine smile.

"Of course. It made complete sense anyway," she reasoned.

"Maybe," Quinn guessed. "But I can't blame you for having a crush on Rachel. She is pretty amazing." She turned to her girlfriend and beamed.

"Yeah," Gabrielle agreed. "Besides, it could have been worse. It's not like I had a crush on…" Gabby quickly stopped herself before she said too much but her sudden silence had earned both Quinn and Rachel's rapt attention. Both of them had curious looks upon their faces. Rachel wanted to ask but she was pretty sure that Gabrielle was comfortable in answering. Quinn though didn't put too much thought into that before opening her mouth.

"Wait, who else do you have a crush on?

"No one!" Gabby squeaked, her cheeks growing a deep shade of red. Before Quinn could ask her again the door suddenly swung open. Quinn looked up, surprised at the idea that Santana and Brittany were back so soon, but it wasn't them standing outside Rachel's room.

"Frannie? What are you doing here?"

Frannie narrowed her eyes at her little sister with the slightest bit of annoyance. "You blubber to me over the phone about your girlfriend being hurt and you're surprised to see me here?"

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Also, who's the asshole with a mohawk who tried to hit on me?"

Rachel raised her hand slightly to answer. "That would be my best friend, Noah," she answered meekly while making a mental note to give him a good smack on the arm once she was feeling better. The anger on Frannie's face disappeared and was replaced with guilt.

"Did I say asshole? I meant…"

Frannie tried to find a word but she couldn't. Rachel spared her the trouble. "It's okay," she assured her. "That's just how he is around most girls." That didn't at all excuse his behavior but Rachel knew that Frannie had to have met some guys like that. "Anyway, it's so nice to finally meet you. Quinn's told me so much about you. You sound like such a great sister." Frannie raised an eyebrow in question. Rachel could see where Quinn had gotten that from.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"What?" Quinn questioned. "Are you disappointed or something?"

"Not really, I guess," Frannie sighed. "I was just kind of hoping that…" She then shook her head. "You know what… never mind, I'm just glad that you're all right and I wish that we had met under better circumstances." Frannie went over to Rachel and gave her hug. She took a look around her room when she pulled back and only then did she realize that it wasn't just the three of them in the room. "Hi." She waved at Gabby, whose face was completely red. "I've seen you before haven't I? We've never properly met; I'm Quinn's sister Frannie." The blush on Gabrielle's cheek deepened, if that were even possible. "Are you okay?"

"Oh My God! You-" Before Quinn could finish Gabby rushed over and covered her mouth with her hands. Quinn's eyes narrowed and she grabbed Gabrielle's hands to pull them away from her face. Gabby only tried harder to keep her quiet.

"I'm fine," she told Frannie as she fought with Quinn. "I mean- I'm Gabrielle. I am fine, but you know… my name, its Gabrielle and uh… yeah, I'm fine." Frannie stared at her and then at Quinn and then finally at Rachel who was frozen in her spot as she watched everything. She hadn't been expecting that. Admittedly, Frannie was very beautiful much like Quinn and from what she had been told Rachel was certain that she was an amazing person.

"Okay," Frannie replied skeptically. "I'm going to head downstairs and grab me some water."

Once she was gone Gabrielle immediately let go of Quinn's mouth. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly and Quinn's expression softened. "I knew what you were going to say and I couldn't let you. I'm really sorry Quinn. Please don't be mad."

"You have a crush on my sister!" Gabrielle made no attempts to deny Quinn's accusations. She looked down at her lap, embarrassed that her little secret was now out in the open. "Oh my God, oh my God, I- how- my sister, really?"

Gabby shrugged slightly. "I don't know," she answered quietly. "I mean like, she's really cool and like so hot." She giggled nervously at that and Quinn physically recoiled.

"Ew, that's my sister you're talking about," she reminded.

Rachel scooted over to Quinn and took a hold of her hand. She squeezed it lightly to get her attention. "Why don't we just forget about this?" she suggested. Gabrielle had been embarrassed enough already and it wasn't as though her crush on Frannie was the worst thing that could happen. Quinn gave her a look and then huffed out in frustration, but she let the topic pass and Rachel rewarded her with a kiss on the cheek. A small smile grew upon her face and she slowly lifted her head to look up at Gabrielle.

She let out a sigh before speaking. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to get mad. It's just… weird." Gabby gave a weak chuckle.

"It's okay. I probably shouldn't have said that your sister was hot."

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have," Quinn agreed with a grimace.

"Sorry, I'll make sure not to do that again," she promised while nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "So… are we okay?"

"We're okay… just, don't talk about my sister like that ever again."

It wasn't until much later on that Brittany and Santana returned. They had gotten Rachel a couple of outfits. She refused them at first but Brittany insisted and well… it wasn't easy to say no to Brittany. Rachel looked through the clothes that they had bought her and found that a few of them to be a bit more revealing that she was comfortable with. But everyone, even Quinn, agreed that her skirts were just as revealing. Rachel had gotten mildly irritated at that, but a bit of sweet talking was all that was needed to cool her down, although Rachel was still skeptical over wearing something that would show off so much cleavage.

Much to Rachel's surprise, not everything they had gotten was for her. They had also gotten something for Quinn. It was inside a box so no one could see what it was. As they handed it to her, Brittany and a wide smile upon her face while Santana wore an evil smirk. Quinn was cautious as she opened it. There was no denying that they were up to something. Rachel had a perfect view of the box since she was sitting right next to Quinn. And once it was opened fully, her mouth fell agape. Quinn was in a similar state.

"Looks like Berry likes it," Santana said, still wearing that smirk. Quinn looked over to her.

"Well… I suppose I could use some nursing."

"Wow, um… I think I should get out of here."

"Oh, Gabby I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Rachel tried to apologize as Santana burst out laughing. Gabrielle was already out of the door though and so Brittany decided to drag Santana out as well, leaving Rachel and Quinn alone. "I feel so embarrassed."

"Why don't I see if I can make you feel better then?"


	23. Chapter 23

"I can't watch," Rachel murmured as she covered her eyes.

"Rachel."

"I can't watch," Rachel repeated, shaking her head.

"Rachel."

"I can't," she insisted.

"Rachel, it's just practice." A light giggle escaped her lips and she shook her head. "They'll do fine baby," she assured. At the very least they looked good on the field. There would be no way to replace Rachel, especially not with the little time that they had. The Titans would just have to formulate a new plan of attack. By the looks of things Sam would likely get more playing time as he was a more mobile quarterback then Finn. Hopefully that would be enough. Quinn scooted closer to her girlfriend and planted a kiss upon the corner of her mouth. "Better?" she asked.

Rachel's smile widened. "A little bit," she answered, her eyes still fully covered by her hands. "Maybe if you…" She let her words hang and Quinn rolled her eyes.

"I still can't believe that Santana bought me that."

"It would look good on you," Rachel argued, peeking through her fingers just to see if Quinn was upset with her. She had been taking good care of Rachel but she had yet to try on the nurse outfit. Rachel wouldn't push the subject if Quinn flat out refused, but she hadn't. She was only a bit skeptical about the idea. She looked to be deep in thought, as though considering her options. But then she noticed that Rachel was peeking and so Rachel quickly covered her eyes again. "Please," she tried, jutting out her lower lip as she pouted.

After a moment she heard Quinn sigh. "All right… but on one condition." Rachel found herself nodding before she could even think about doing so. Quinn laughed a bit at that. "You have to stop worrying, okay? You got the team this far. I'm sure they'll give it their all to win that championship for you."

Rachel dropped her hands from in front of eyes. She looked over at Quinn, tilling her head to the side uncertainly. "You think?" she asked.

"I know." Quinn carefully wrapped an arm around her girlfriend and pulled her in close. She had Rachel rest her head upon her shoulder and then gently rested her own head atop Rachel's. Rachel took a hold of Quinn's hand and intertwined their fingers. They watched the team run one of their passing plays. It didn't work out too well and Rachel started to worry again. "Nurse outfit," Quinn quietly reminded. That was all that needed to be said.

Rachel would have preferred it if she were on the field but there was nothing that could be done about that. She had other things to think about anyway. Specifically, she had her girlfriend in a nurse outfit to think about. Quinn hadn't said anything about when she'd try it on, but she had promised. Normally, Rachel would never make such a request but since they had the outfit available she felt that it would be such a waste if they didn't put it to good use. And she did need some nursing anyway. The pain in her side bothered her occasionally and so Quinn was always so soft and gentle with her, like she was afraid that she might break.

And after what she had seen, Rachel couldn't blame her. At first she had actually been afraid that she had been broken in half. The pain had been so intense as it shot up her spine. She had been hit before; of course she had, but never that hard. And usually she'd be able to see the hit coming and be able to brace herself for it or even just run out of bounds. That hit though, she was barely even aware of what was happening. One second she was celebrating, the next she was in the air, and then she was on the ground.

Then Quinn was beside her and she was crying while trying to assure her that everything would be okay. And Rachel tried not to cry too. She didn't want to scare Quinn any further but the tears escaped her eyes anyway. The ambulance ride was probably the scariest part since she didn't have Quinn or any of her friends with her. As the memories flooded back into her mind Rachel nuzzled closer into her girlfriend. There had been a moment, if only just a moment, when Rachel had fully expected the worst. As though sensing her worry, Quinn planted a kiss upon the top of her head.

From their spot up on the bleachers, they had a good view of the team's practice. They seemed to be playing well enough, a fact that Quinn pointed out occasionally. It was obvious what she was doing and the fact that she was putting up the effort was enough to lift Rachel's spirits. They stayed there for the full length of practice and by the end of it Rachel was feeling far more confident in their chances then she had when practice had begun.

Quinn drove her home, and much like she had since Rachel had come home from the hospital she stayed over. She was pretty much living there. Although she would go home every so often; she did miss her parents after all. They went up to her room and Quinn sat down atop Rachel's bed, settling her bag down beside her. She started to open it but made sure to hide her bag from Rachel's view when Rachel took a seat next to her. At first Rachel frowned in confusion but then her eyes widened in surprise when Quinn turned back around.

She had been carrying the nurse outfit around with her, and for some reason Rachel felt like it had been longer than just that one day. Quinn looked unsure and she forced on a smile. "I'll just um…" She made a gesture towards the door to Rachel's bathroom. "I'll just go change." She quickly went into Rachel's bathroom without waiting for a response. She took her time, an unusually long amount of it but Rachel waited patiently. And she was well rewarded when Quinn finally exited her bathroom in candy stripes.

The skirt was a little short; a detail which Rachel didn't think was an accident. Quinn chose to not tie her hair into a bun, but she did have a nursing cap upon her head. And to finish the outfit off, she had on a pair of white knee socks. People had often judged Rachel on why she wore knee socks. Frankly, she thought they were comfortable and could, at times, be sexy too. Rachel was pretty sure that anyone that saw Quinn wouldn't argue about that. She looked hot. Nurses weren't supposed to look that hot.

There was a slight blush upon her cheeks, which was most likely due to the skirt which she was trying to adjust. After a while she stopped. It was a pointless endeavor. Rachel made a mental note to thank Santana. Quinn nervously bit her lip. It wasn't meant to look sexy, but it was. Rachel couldn't help but let out a soft whimper, to which Quinn raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Rachel whimpered again. Her former nervousness disappearing, Quinn sauntered over.

She gently pushed Rachel back, having her lie down on the bed. She straddled one of her legs so she wouldn't unnecessarily put pressure on her injured side. Quinn began trailing kisses upon Rachel's neck and up her cheek. "Relax," she husked. "I'll take care of you." The sultriness of her voice turned Rachel to mush. Quinn's lips were on her neck again. She tilted her head to the side to give her girlfriend easier access, mewling out and threading her fingers through Quinn's hair.

"Kiss me," she begged. Quinn briefly shook her head and then continued to have her way with Rachel. After a minute or two she pushed herself up. Rachel stared at her in awe. Her hands found their way to Quinn's thighs. The temptation to reach higher was hard to fight. It was a battle that Rachel couldn't win. She slipped her right hand up Quinn's skirt and cupped her ass. Quinn gasped in surprise and then looked down at her girlfriend. Rachel blushed a bit and ducked her head. "Sorry," she apologized meekly. She tried to drop her hand but before she could, Quinn gently grasped onto her wrist.

"You can touch," she assured quietly. "Especially if it makes you feel better. Does it?" Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded quickly. Quinn smiled and laughed softly in a teasing sort of way. "Well good." She leaned in and finally kissed Rachel where she wanted. Rachel moaned into Quinn's mouth. She pulled her girlfriend in closer, causing Quinn's knee to brush against her right there. She was wet. No, she was soaked. Rachel was sure Quinn would be able to feel but if she did then she made no mention of it.

Rachel guessed that Quinn was just a little too preoccupied. It had been too long since they had done this. Quinn had been so worried that she'd hurt her accidentally. Now though, she was giving in to her desires. When Rachel moaned again, Quinn slipped her tongue in between her parted lips. Fingers threaded through Rachel's hair, and then there was a hand upon her thigh. Her eyes closed of their own accord as she lost herself to the blissfulness of Quinn's touch. Quinn's lips left her momentarily and Rachel heard her girlfriend take in a deep breath.

Then Quinn's lips were on her neck again. Rachel rolled her hips and cried out in joy. Her moans and whimpers echoed off the walls of her room. If it was for the fact that her room was soundproof, she knew that her dads and maybe the entire neighborhood would hear her. The kisses upon her neck began to trail downward. Quinn planted kisses in between the valley of her breasts, and even with her top separate her skin from Quinn's lips, Rachel shuddered.

Her heart was racing, and the lower Quinn got, the faster her heart went. Rachel's breathing grew labored. Quinn reached her stomach. She pushed top up slightly and kissed her navel. "Wait, stop!" And Quinn immediately did. She rushed up onto the bed and laid down right next to her girlfriend. She cupped her face with both hands and kissed her softly.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- I wasn't even going to- I just-" When it was clear that she wasn't going to stop, Rachel shushed her by placing two fingers upon her lips. Quinn's eyes widened in question and Rachel pulled her fingers back.

"That's not it," she explained, and Quinn looked more confused. "I- I don't mean that I am ready, because I'm not sure that I am but that's not why I asked you to stop." Quinn's brows furrowed in this cute little way. The more Rachel spoke the more confused she seemed to get. It was adorable.

"Okay, then what's wrong?"

"Well…" Rachel did want to answer Quinn, but she was a bit embarrassed.

"What?" Quinn insisted, genuinely concerned.

Rachel didn't want her to worry any more than she already did. She knew she had to tell her. "I- Well, I almost..." She let her words trail as she thought of a way to best explain. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of one. "I almost…" She looked down between them and for a moment Quinn was still completely lost but then it hit her. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell agape.

"Oh…" Rachel shyly ducked her head and nodded. Quinn placed her hand under Rachel's chin and lifted her head up. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that I was close too? Because I was."


	24. Chapter 24

There were less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Titans were down fourteen to ten. They were out of timeouts but they were also in a position to score and take the lead. Much like in practice, Rachel couldn't watch. During the regular season each win was important in advancing them, but now in the playoffs they were vital. A single loss would not only end their undefeated season; it would end their season entirely.

Beside her Quinn was giving her some play-by-play, having temporarily given Santana captainship over the Cheerios. Admittedly, most of her commentary consisted of attempts to calm Rachel down but she gave her enough details so she could know what was going on. "Okay they're throwing," Quinn told her. "Puck's in the end zone but he's covered pretty well." Rachel took a peek in between her fingers but she couldn't see much of what was happening. Then she heard the crowd around her give a collective groan. She immediately covered her eyes again.

"What happened? They didn't intercept the ball did they?" Rachel knew that if they had then the Titans would most certainly lose the game.

"No, nothing like that," Quinn assured. "Finn just got sacked." Normally Rachel would have been concerned about Finn's well-being, but with the game and their undefeated season on the line Rachel was just upset that Finn would let himself get hit. She'd check to see if he were okay after they won. Since he had gotten sacked, it meant that they were on third down. Not good. "It's okay," Quinn tried to comfort her as she wrapped her arms around her. "We're still going to win, I know we are." Rachel wished that she had Quinn's confidence, but she couldn't feel that way since she wasn't actively contributing in any way.

The clock was still ticking down. Rachel could practically hear it. Each second that passed felt like a second closer to their defeat. Rachel chanced a glance at the game clock. Seeing it tick down from one minute and thirty four seconds to one minute and thirty three seconds did nothing to help her anxiety. Then there was another collective groan. Rachel was afraid to ask what happened, but she did so anyway. "What is it? What happened? Did we lose?"

"No. Nothing happened," Quinn tried to say calmingly. Her voice shook a little though so it was clear that something bad did happen. "We're just… we're just on fourth down and the clock is still ticking. But we still have this one last chance to score so that's good, right?" Quinn tried to look on the bright side but Rachel couldn't. Like literally she couldn't, because you know she was covering her eyes and all that, but regardless she was too worried to hope for the best.

The play started, Rachel's eyes still fully covered. She had no idea what was going on, had no idea if things were looking well. And then she heard that sound again and her heart sank. They didn't make it. They lost. She knew it and yet she had to ask "Did we-"

"Wait, there's a penalty."

A penalty. They'd have to repeat fourth down. They still had a chance. Rachel took a peek at the field in between her fingers. She saw the ball get snapped. Finn scanned the end zone for an open receiver. He pump-faked and then Rachel saw a linebacker heading straight for him. He had managed to get past the offensive line and had his sights on ending their undefeated season as well as ending any hopes they had at winning that championship. But just before he got hit, Finn managed to make a short pass to Noah. He still had a good few yards between him and victory and very little of his teammates close enough to help him out.

He dashed forward, stiff-arming a guy on his right and then spinning left to avoid yet another opposing player. Mike came up, adverting yet another tackler just enough so that Noah could get away. As he closed in on the end zone one the safeties closed in on him. Noah leapt for the touchdown. He got hit while still in mid-air. Rachel had to cover her eyes again. It was so close; she couldn't tell for certain if he had gotten in. And then the cheering started.

Quinn got up to her feet and lifted Rachel up, holding her closely in a tight hug. "We won!" she yelled. "We won!" Rachel cried out in surprise as she was lifted off her feet. Quinn set her back on the ground and playfully laughed at her. "I'm sorry," she apologized before pulling her in for a kiss. Obviously, Rachel easily forgave her.

After they pulled apart Rachel tried to look down on to the field, a task which proved to be a tad difficult since the entire crowd was up on their feet and celebrating. Their first playoff win of the season, and also their first playoff win in… probably ever. Rachel tried standing up on her seat and that help, a little. Quinn giggled a bit at her attempts so Rachel jumped down and decided to simply go down to the field. She took her girlfriend by the hand and then proceeded to make her way through the crowd.

Some people moved out of the way, likely because they realized who was trying to get past but others were too preoccupied to notice her. Eventually though Rachel and Quinn made it out to the stairs and together they went down to the field. They rushed over to the team to congratulate them. It didn't take long for Noah to notice their approach. He opened his arms wide to take Rachel into a hug but, as he probably should have expected, Rachel ended up punching him on the arm instead. "Ow! What was that for? We won!"

"Don't you ever scare me like that!" she scolded as she pointed a finger straight at Noah's face. He flinched a bit; whether out of surprise or fear, neither Rachel Quinn could really tell but based on how angry Rachel sounded he was likely afraid.

"Sorry."

"You better be." Rachel swiftly spun on heel while crossing her arms over her chest. "Now, to celebrate you're going to buy me and Quinn some vegan ice cream." Noah's jaw dropped in disbelief. The sight was quite comical and Quinn would have laughed if Rachel hadn't sounded so serious. Quinn watched as Noah made some wild gestures while mouthing out some words. "I know what you're doing Noah," Rachel warned. Noah immediately ceased his actions and put his hands up in the air in surrender. "We should get going." Noah didn't have much of a choice.

He talked to the guys for a bit before following Rachel and Quinn. They went over to a little place that Rachel frequented. At some point Noah got talked into paying. When they got there it was fairly empty so they had free choice of where to sit. Rachel and Quinn went simply with chocolate and vanilla respectively, but since Noah had been persuaded (read as forced) into coughing up some cash he decided to take his time in choosing. And that meant that, at least for a few minutes, Rachel and Quinn had the table all to themselves.

"Told you we'd win," Quinn bragged as she took a scoop of her ice cream.

"You did, but I know you were afraid as I was."

"I doubt that anyone could have been afraid as you were," Quinn laughed to which Rachel shot her a glare which looked more cute than intimidating and so Quinn just smiled and giggled a bit. "Sorry, here." She took another scoop of her ice cream and brought her spoon up to Rachel's lips. For a moment it looked like Rachel wasn't going to forgive her so easily but her façade quickly broke and she eagerly let Quinn feed her some ice cream. Rachel then decided to feed Quinn as well.

Noah returned soon after, just able to catch them offering ice cream for one another. He gave them a look and took a seat at the table beside them. He shook his head before digging in. "You're like that now," Rachel spoke up. "But just wait until you find a girl like Quinn."

"Yeah," Noah shook his head. "No thanks. I can live without all that mushy stuff."

Rachel let out a huff. "Nonsense, Noah. You just don't know what you're missing." She turned to Quinn and continued to speak. "You have no idea how amazing it feels to be with someone that you love; a person who loves you back just as much. Someone you who connect with on a deeper level, who you can talk to about anything, and never judges you and just loves you unconditionally."

"Uh huh, like I said not into that stuff." Rachel frowned.

"Oh, come here," Quinn cooed. "Maybe this will make you feel better." She pulled her in and kissed her softly.

"Jeez," Noah groaned. "I cannot believe you ruined lesbians for me," Noah complained before leaving. He then doubled back to get his ice cream.


	25. Chapter 25

Rachel awoke in Quinn's arms. The two of them had walked to Rachel's house after Noah had seemingly abandoned them. In reality, he was only waiting outside… for pretty much nothing because long before they went outside, Quinn and Rachel had already decided that they wanted some alone time. Noah groaned as he walked away, muttering some sort of complaint under his breath. "Sorry Noah," Rachel apologized as she walked off in the opposite direction with Quinn on her arm.

He waved them off without looking back. "Don't worry about it." And for a moment Rachel did, but a kiss on the cheek from Quinn was enough to have her forget about that. They wandered a bit, taking comfort in each other's presence and warmth and eventually made their way to Rachel's house. Quinn stayed over since it was late and they quickly fell asleep together on Rachel's bed.

Rachel woke the following morning, Quinn's fingers lightly dancing upon her midsection. She placed her hand over Quinn's, interlacing their fingers and then she felt Quinn's lips upon her neck. Quinn trailed barely there kisses down to Rachel's collarbone. "Morning," she whispered before nuzzling into her hair. "I've been waiting for you to get up."

"Yeah?" Rachel question as she nuzzled back into Quinn.

"Yeah, you want to grab some breakfast or maybe we should cuddle some more?"

"I'm fine with lying here for a bit," Rachel admitted. "But don't you have Cheerios practice?"

Quinn groaned lightly. "Don't remind me. I so wish that Sue would have given me a few extra days off to make sure you're all right."

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," Rachel assured as she rolled over to face her girlfriend. "And I think that you were lucky enough to have Sue give you some time off at all. How exactly did you pull that off in the first place anyway?"

Quinn smirked and answered with a simple, "I have my ways."

The two of them stayed in bed just a little longer before heading downstairs and having some breakfast with Rachel's dads. Quinn had to head off soon after and though she told Rachel that she didn't need to come along, Rachel did so anyway. She wanted to make sure that Rachel was able to get some adequate rest. Of course any argument with her girlfriend was doomed for failure and so, after a quick trip to Quinn's house to pick up her Cheerios uniform, they left for McKinley together.

When they got there they were forced to split up. Quinn had to have a little talk with Sue and so Rachel went to find herself a nice seat up on the bleachers. But before that she walked onto the field, lightly kicking the grass. Rachel had missed only one game thus far and yet it felt like so much more. As odd as it sounded, she missed it. She did a little spin and let herself fall down with a soft thud. She could see the Cheerios doing some stretches while Quinn and Sue had their chat.

She had no way of knowing what they were saying to one another, but perhaps that was a good thing. At the very least she knew that Sue wasn't yelling at her girlfriend. Rachel pushed herself up and got off the field. She had seen enough Cheerios practices on know that they'd use it until the football team showed up later on in the day. Rachel went for her seat but along the way someone caught her eye. She stopped and waved at her. Gabrielle froze momentarily before waving back. "Hey," Rachel said as she approached her. "I have seen you in a while." While not exactly true, it had been a while since Rachel had last spoken to Gabrielle.

"Oh, yeah," Gabrielle shrugged. "I've been busy," she explained unconvincingly as she passed a glance in Quinn's direction. "Okay, yeah. That's a big lie. I've actually been avoiding you. No, I've actually been avoiding Quinn which is pretty much the same thing as avoiding you since the two of you are pretty much attached at the hip." She promptly face-palmed after speaking. "I did not mean to say all that. Oh jeez…" She let out a sigh. "It's just, I made a complete fool of myself."

"I wouldn't say that," Rachel told her encouragingly, to which Gabby gave her a face.

"I told her that I thought her sister was hot," she reminded embarrassedly. "I am never going to be able to face Quinn after that. To be honest, I even considered skipping out on practice today so I could avoid the all the awkwardness." She shrugged and gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I guess I've prolonged the inevitable for long enough. Wish me luck." She forced on a smile before getting back to practice.

"You won't need it," Rachel assured, although she wasn't quite sure if she was saying that for Gabrielle's sake or her own. She went back to the bleachers so she could watch them practice. Quinn and Sue had finished their talk and so it wasn't long until they hit the field to work on their routine. Sue took up a good vantage point which was, thankfully, far away from where Rachel was sitting. She had her megaphone in had at the ready to yell out in case she saw the slightly bit of incompetence among her Cheerios.

As Rachel had learnt, there would likely be a lot of yelling. She focused her attention onto her girlfriend, who had just passed by Gabrielle with a simple passing glace. Her lips had moved slightly and then Gabby's moved as well. They seemed to acting friendly enough but since Rachel was too far away to hear the words spoken or the tone in which they were said, she couldn't know for sure. She kept a close eye to see if they would talk again and they, in fact, did.

Rachel tried to read their lips, but found that she didn't have the talent to do so. Because as far as she could tell Quinn and Gabrielle were talking about stealing animals from the zoo… yeah, they probably weren't planning anything like that. Unless they were, but if they were then Rachel would have to have a talk with Quinn about how she shouldn't partake in such criminal activities. But they definitely weren't talking about anything like that.

It was fairly pointless to try and figure out so Rachel let her worry slip away and just enjoyed the show, which meant that she mostly just watched Quinn. She paid some attention to the Cheerios routine as well, and it looked flawless to her. Needless to say, Sue didn't feel the same. She had them go over the routine several more times until a readily visible mistake was actually made. Rachel cringed at the thought of what Sue would have them do for such a small misstep and she could see that Cheerios felt similarly to her. But none of them could, or would, say a word against their coach. They were forced to run laps around the field.

The football team showed up during that time. They stopped short of the field as the Cheerios ran past. Noah was up front. He looked up at the bleachers towards Rachel. Once he caught her eye, he tilted his head to the side over towards the Cheerios. Rachel made some gestures with her hands, a fairly poor attempt of trying to explain that one of the Cheerios flipped a moment too late. He nodded and waited for them to pass before going on the field.

Their practice was more or less the same as usual. Rachel had watched enough of them to know how things played out, but since having been part of the team she noticed things that she hadn't before. Finn had a tendency to hold onto the ball a few seconds longer than usual. Rachel felt that there was a bit of indecision in him; always looking to make the best possible play even with a half dozen guys trying to knock his head clean off his shoulders.

There were plenty of little things to see, to criticize. And it was much in Rachel's nature to look for flaws or potential ones. For her dream of becoming a Broadway star to become a reality, she would have to rid herself of such flaws. And reasonably, for the Titans to win that championship they would have to do the same. They were solid, maybe more than that, but they weren't perfect. Rachel watched carefully until practice ended, and once it did she made her way down to the field.

She ran up behind Noah and gave him a light punch on the arm to get his attention. "Hey, you need to stop trying to run right through people." He chuckled lightly and so Rachel gave another, harder, punch. "I'm serious. For one, you might get hurt." Again he laughed, but this time Rachel just went on and ignored his immaturity. "And two, there were plenty of time out there where you could have easily gained more yards if you had simply swerved off to the side rather than try to power your way through David."

"Okay Mother," he answered mockingly, to which Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. Noah sighed once he noticed her crossed her arms over her chest. "No promises, but I'll try, all right?" he asked while tossing his hands up in surrender. Rachel let him sweat it out for a moment before giving a swift nod of approval. Honestly, it was all that she could have really asked for. "Good, you need a ride?" Rachel looked back at the field where the Cheerios were still running laps.

"Um… I think I'll wait for Quinn."

"All right, I'll be around for a bit so if you need me…"

"I know. Thanks Noah." She gave him a brief hug before taking a seat on the lowest part of the bleachers. She couldn't recall if Sue had set a specific amount of laps, but even if she had Rachel had no idea how long the Cheerios had been running. But if she had to guess, she was pretty sure that she'd be there for a long time. Rachel decided to get a head start on her homework, just in case. An hour passed, maybe two, possibly three before she heard Quinn plop down beside her.

She practically collapsed right onto Rachel's shoulder with a soft whimper. "Homework?" she muttered out. Rachel hummed out her answer. "Sorry, things ran so late."

"That's fine. Do you need a little rest? We don't have to leave right away."

"Yeah? Maybe just a minute; my legs are killing me." Quinn stretched them out in front of her and gently massaged her calves, humming in content as she did so. "So… I saw you talking with Gabby earlier…" Rachel paused on her work and shot Quinn a questioning look. "I'm not jealous or anything," she quickly explained. "Just curious, she and I have talked since… well, you know."

"Well, she has been avoiding you."

"I figured as much."

"But…"

"But what?"

"Well…"

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! *sighs* Okay, I actually don't have the energy for this. I'm really sick right now and I should probably be sleeping, but it's daytime and I, for whatever reason, can't sleep during the day... unless I'm totally exhausted.
> 
> Also, I'm not sure if it's because I'm sick or if it's because I'm still on a Korrasami high, but at some point while writing this I typed Korra instead of Rachel. How I got those two mixed up I don't know. Just wanted to give you all a heads up. I went through and I don't think there are any mistakes (at least none name-switching wise, grammar wise there are likely many cause I suck at grammar) but if there are any (name-switching wise) I will fix it... once I'm better.
> 
> Until then, enjoy.

"No."

"But Quinn-"

"I said no."

"You won't even listen to me."

"I did listen," Quinn pointed out as she swiftly spun around to her girlfriend. "And I have been listening for the past few days, and I'm telling you no." Her words were spoken with such finality that any normal person would have just let the topic drop there. But Rachel was no average person. Her lips curled downward and Quinn's eyes narrowed. "Oh, don't even think about using that pout on me. I am not going to set my sister up with Gabrielle." She gave Rachel one last stern look before spinning on heel and going on her way.

"But-"

"I said no, Rachel."

Rachel frowned. She had hoped that this would have gone easier, but Quinn had been quite firm in her stance. Rachel knew that she couldn't, nor wouldn't, assist Gabrielle without Quinn's help and approval so she had to figure out a way to change her mind. Quinn had advanced several feet ahead of her, but apparently she had decided not to go on without her. Rachel walked up beside her and linked her hands together with Quinn's.

"Are we really fighting?" she asked, a few moments after they started walking.

Quinn let out an exasperated sigh. She turned to Rachel, a frown upon her face. "It's not like I want to argue with you, but Gabby… with my sister." She shuddered at the thought and then continued on her way, lightly tugging Rachel along with her. "She's a great girl, I'll admit, but it would just be weird and can you just drop it already?" Rachel opened her mouth to speak but a quick glance from Quinn had her shutting it once more. She pouted again and this time she successfully, although not purposely, managed to break through Quinn's resolve. "I'll think about it," she sighed. Rachel instantly lit up and was about to hug Quinn, but halted when she found a finger pointed right at her face. "But you are not allowed to do that to me anymore."

"Um… okay. I guess I can try." Quinn didn't look fully convinced, and truthfully Rachel was quite sure she'd be able to keep up her side of the agreement. But it was the effort that counted so Rachel put on a big smile and hoped that Quinn would believe her. There was this small, contemplative scowl on Quinn's face as she turned back away. But she wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist and proceeded to walk Rachel the rest of the way to class. She left with a kiss on the cheek as well as a promise that they'd talk later.

For the rest of the day Rachel made sure not to bring up the topic. She was determined to give Quinn the space to think things through and to realize, on her own, that it'd be a great idea to get Frannie and Gabrielle together or that she'd at least not consider it an awful idea. Rachel knew full well that she was getting a little ahead of herself with this whole match-matcher thing but if she could get the girl of her dreams then she didn't see why Gabrielle couldn't do so too. And, if Rachel were being honest, she had to admit that Gabby and Frannie would be quite cute together.

She very much liked the thought of them being happy together, and had just so happened to be picturing said image when she saw Gabrielle across the cafeteria during lunch. She smiled at her funnily, which in turned caused Gabrielle much confusion. She promptly started to look around her in a vain effort to find what it was that Rachel found so amusing. Yeah, she and Frannie would definitely look cute together.

"What the fuck are you doing?" The sound of Santana's voice snapped Rachel out of her thoughts. She jumped back slightly in fright, nearly dropping her tray of food to the floor. Despite everything, Santana still scared her quite a bit.

"Nothing," she answered swiftly.

Santana's gazed drifted over to where a confused Gabrielle stood and then back to Rachel. "Nothing?" she repeated and Rachel nodded. "Well, it better not have been. I hate to say it Berry, but you're actually not half bad. But if you hurt Q I'll-"

"I would never." For a moment Santana's eyes turned fiery and Rachel worried that she had just made a big mistake but the anger in her eyes disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Her expression softened and she gave Rachel a look that Rachel was unfamiliar with. For her it seemed to be one of… respect. She gave Rachel an approving smirk and then spun around quickly, her hair whipping behind her and nearly slapping Rachel across the face. Rachel stood shocked and watched as Santana walked off towards their usual table.

She was okay and everything had gone fine, surprisingly. Nonetheless, Rachel gave herself a once over just to check and see if Santana had done something to her while she had otherwise been preoccupied but didn't appear to be the case. Her lips curled upward into a smile. She had stood her ground and everything went great. Rachel felt so proud of herself. She quickly scanned the immediate area to see if anyone had noticed her achievement. As luck would have it, none did.

But perhaps Gabby had. Rachel turned back in her direction but found that she was long gone. Her shoulders slumped somewhat. She had been in the middle of the cafeteria and had done something that few others would even attempt, and yet no one but her had witnessed it. It was a bit disheartened for Rachel but moved passed her annoyance and went to grab some food. As she walked someone came up from behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey there Jew Babe, what's up?" Noah said before he noted her expression. "You okay? Did something happen? Who do I gotta beat up?" Rachel chuckled at the last bit, but she stopped him before he got to ahead of himself. Noah would end up far too disappointed otherwise. Since she knew he'd understand, Rachel calmly told him about what had just happened. He chuckled lightly in amusement. "That must have been something," he mused aloud.

"It was!" Rachel gushed, causing Noah to laugh once more. But he understood how important this achievement was to Rachel and so he quickly stopped before moving on to a different topic.

"Bet it was, anyways I got a surprise for you later."

Rachel's eyes lit up, and she completely forgot about her earlier disappointment. "A surprise? Ooh, what is it?"

"A surprise?" he laughed with a shrug. "No hints either, you'll just have to wait until later." Reactively, Rachel put on her trademark pout. Noah knew the look well and knew, just as Quinn had come to learn, that said pout had strong persuasive powers. He left swiftly before Rachel could use it against him, but before he left Noah decided to ruffle Rachel's hair up a bit. Rachel shot his retreating form a nasty glare and straightened herself out.

She grabbed a tray of food and then went to meet Rachel at the table. Rachel was greeted with a kiss on the cheek and a gagging sound from Santana. She couldn't make up her mind on whether or not to appreciate the fact that Santana's reaction to their displays of affection would likely never change. But it was enough to know that Quinn's best friend approved of their relationship, even if she was entirely disgusted by it.

But as things were, their displays of affection were a bit limited, particularly when Gabrielle came by and took a seat not too far away from them. She looked a bit nervous at her placement at the table and its proximity to Quinn, but there weren't many available spots left. Rachel waved at her warmly, in an attempt to calm her. Rachel could feel Santana's eyes on her as she did so but the feeling didn't last long, and when she turned towards her she found that Santana was otherwise preoccupied.

Rachel turned back in time to catch Gabrielle give a small wave back. She immediately turned her attention to her food and chatted a bit with those who were directly next to her. After that, the rest of lunch seemed to pass by quite uneventfully. And after a few more hours Rachel was once more heading out to the field with her girlfriend. She gave Quinn a quick kiss on the cheek before her girlfriend got started for Cheerios practice.

Then, once again, Rachel took a place up on the bleachers. She had gotten a bit of homework throughout the day and so she pulled some out and got started on it. If there was one bright side to not being able to play anymore it was that Rachel's schedule had been cleaned up a bit, that and she wouldn't have to get tackled anymore. Also, that whole thing with teachers letting jocks slide through class; so not true. Or maybe it just wasn't true in Rachel's case. Not that she would have ever taken advantage of such a thing of course.

The team came out not soon later. Briefly, Rachel's eyes shot up from her work. She watched as they all ran out onto the field, or at least it appeared that they had. One number looked to be missing among the crowd. Rachel searched for Noah, eventually finding him on the sidelines talking with Coach Beiste. Rachel couldn't hear a word they were saying and she knew better than to try and read their lips, but she was curious to say the least especially since was still awaiting her surprise. Noah glanced at her for a moment, this huge grin upon his face. He held his hand out and Coach Beiste placed her own hand over his. She looked to be handing him something; something small. Noah looked over it briefly before handing it back.

She watched as Noah turned to the bleachers and marched up to where she sat. He casually plopped down beside her with a simple, "Hey." He leaned back slightly and stretched. He acted normally even though Rachel knew that he was aware that she had been looking at them. She knew that he was enjoying what he was doing; torturing her so. "Team's been looking good, haven't they?"

"They have," Rachel played along.

"Hasn't been the same without you though."

"But you guys don't need me," Or at least Rachel hoped that they didn't. "You'll just have to focus more on your passing game, and you guys did a great job at that during your last game." Noah scoffed at her words.

"We got lucky," he admitted. "Were you even watching?" Silence followed, save for the sound of Rachel's slight fidgeting. "You didn't?" he asked in disbelief.

"I was nervous, okay?! The game was so close the entire time and I just couldn't take it," she explained. "So I closed my eyes and had Quinn tell me about what was happening. Is that so wrong? And stop laughing at me!" Rachel punched Noah hard on the arm but he kept laughing. "I mean it Noah, stop laughing!" She raised her tiny fist up threateningly.

"Okay, okay," Noah said, his hands held up at the ready to defend himself if necessary. "I didn't mean to make fun; it's just that you'll need to keep your eyes open if you're going to be Assistant Coach."

"Just because you weren't trying to make fun of me doesn't mean that- wait, what?"

"It wouldn't be an official job or anything," Noah told her. "But I've been talking to Coach and she thinks that it'd be a good idea and so do I. So what do you say?" He gave her a moment to answer, but after said moment he decided to add, "If you do say yes, please try not to be so bossy." For that he received another punch. "Ow! And don't go punching everybody."

"I won't," Rachel promised. "You know I'll only save my punches for you," she told him warmly. "Do I get a whistle? Please tell me I get a whistle."

Noah nodded while rubbing his arm and used his head to gesture towards Coach Beiste. "Yeah, Coach has it." Rachel squealed and jumped up to her feet. She eagerly ran down the bleachers. "I've created a monster, haven't I?"

"Oh, you have no idea! Thank you so much Noah!" Behind her, Rachel heard Noah groan.

"Thanks!" he yelled. "Now everybody'll know who to blame!"

"You're welcome! I'm sure everyone will be very thankful once I win us that championship!" Rachel ran to Coach Beiste who, having heard the end of her conversation with Noah, already had Rachel's whistle held out. It was simple and ordinary, but it hung from a lanyard which had gold star pattern on it. As Rachel took it, she couldn't help but take a look at it. "Thank you Coach!" Rachel leapt up and took Coach Beiste into a hug. "I won't let you down," she told her upon pulling back. "Do you mind if I go tell Quinn real quick?"

"Go ahead, but afterward we'll need to whip these boys into shape."

"Will do, Coach." Rachel rushed over to where the Cheerios were deep in practice. She wanted so badly to jump in, but knew far better than to do so. Instead Rachel waved her hand, and her new whistle, in Quinn's direction. It didn't take long for her girlfriend to notice. Quinn sent her a smile and blew her a kiss. Satisfied, Rachel ran back to Coach Beiste. "May I?" she asked, her whistle only inches away from her lips.

"Go ahead."

Rachel blew on her whistle hard, easily gaining the attention of the entire team. "All right boys! We have a lot of work to do if we want to win that championship so let's get to it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, do I or do I not want to know what the heck has been going on with Glee? I've heard some things and seen some things too.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block hits again :/
> 
> But I guess that happens when you're working on multiple projects at the same time. It's problematic but as long as I update consistently enough I think I'm okay. I'm actually not really sure what to do next without feeling like I'm skipping too much stuff. Interestingly enough, this chapter takes place over a very, very short amount of time. Anyway, as always enjoy.

"Noah? Noah? Are you okay?" Noah in question was lying down, face first, on the lowest part of the bleachers. He had previously seemed fine, but as he headed towards the locker room her just… collapsed. No, collapsed was the wrong word. It wasn't as though he suddenly fell but more that he was too tired to keep going and had decided that the bleachers was a comfortable enough place to take a nap. It shouldn't need to be said but bleachers aren't very comfortable. Rachel carefully strode over to him and poked him on the shoulder. "Noah? Noah?" He moved slightly and grumbled out some words. "I'm sorry, what was that Noah?"

Noah groaned and then turned his face to the side so he could look at her. "I said that I can't move." He then turned his head around so he was no longer facing Rachel.

"But you did just move," Rachel pointed out, fully relived to know that Noah was just being overly dramatic. Typically that was her role, or at least that's what Noah would say. It was odd to be on the other end of things. After receiving no response she poked him again. "Noah?" Rachel grabbed his arm and tried, and failed, to pull him up to his feet. "Get up Noah. Stop being such a drama queen." Rachel grew frustrated as her insult had no effect on him. "Get up!" she tried again to which Noah only groaned.

"Leave me alone woman," he whined. "You already tried to kill me out there."

"I did not!" Rachel was affronted that he would even say such a thing and if he wasn't in such a sorry looking state she probably would have hit him for accusing her of such. "I was only doing my job as coach," she pointed out as calmly as she could.

"But you're not the coach," Noah reminded her. "You're just an assistant coach."

"I am still your coach."

"Then why are you acting like my mother?"

Rachel growled and ceased tugging at his arm. "Fine then, just lie there if you feel like it. See what I care." She marched off a bit, feeling content about leaving him like that… but then she went back to check on him. "I'm leaving now!" she decided to clarify just in case he couldn't hear her waking away. Noah grunted his acknowledgment and so Rachel once again went on her way, albeit a bit slowly. "I mean it Noah, I'm going." With no response Rachel continued on. She slowly treaded past the locker rooms, periodically checking to see if Noah would follow but he didn't seem to have any intentions of moving. Rachel was almost back inside the main building. She could have just left, but she couldn't. She raced back to find Noah in the exact same spot she had left him in. "Noah! Get up!" She shook him roughly in frustration.

"Fine," he groaned. "Fine, I'll get up just stop doing that." Noah pushed himself up to his feet slowly, grunting in pain every so often. Unlike Rachel, Noah wasn't a seasoned actor and so Rachel was concerned that he was genuinely in pain. She considered assisting him in getting into an upright position but at the same time was worried that she might hurt him further.

"Are you okay?" she asked him worriedly.

Noah suddenly sprung up to his feet and stretched a bit. "Yeah, actually I'm fine. I was just messing with you." He laughed a bit and was promptly hit on the arm. "Hey, come on. You didn't actually believe that act, did you?" Her brief silence spoke volumes. Noah feigned a scoff. "I'm hurt. I'm really hurt." He pretended like he was crying and then proceeded to limp away. She now knew that he was only faking but Rachel had to admit that he was giving quite a convincing performance. Perhaps he had learned a thing or two from her. She took a moment to take pride in that idea before chasing after him.

"I'm sorry!" she called out as she ran towards him. "I didn't mean to imply that or anything."

Noah simply waved her off. "Don't worry about it Jew Babe. I know you didn't, but…" He paused and grunted before cracking his neck. "Can you try to be less of a dictator? You're gonna make me regret talking to Coach about letting you be her assistant. I get the feeling that you're worse than Sue."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. "I am not!"

"Ask your girlfriend," he suggested. "I bet she'll agree with me." Rachel knew that Quinn wouldn't and she was just about to tell Noah just that but she decided to let Quinn speak for herself. The Cheerios were just finishing up anyway so they'd just have to wait a tiny before she'd be able to prove Noah wrong. They headed back towards the bleachers so that Noah could get a seat. He leaned back to recline. "So… I saw Santana get in your face earlier."

"Oh, that. That was nothing, just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

"Yes, she- she thought I was interested in Gabrielle." Quiet followed and Rachel turned to her best friend. His eyebrows had risen, his curiosity had been piqued. "I'm not though," she quickly clarified even though Rachel felt like it was unnecessary to say so. Of all people Noah would know best that she never had eyes for anyone other than Quinn. "I just… had an idea, but I can't talk about it."

"Why not?" Noah whined childishly. He seemed really hurt. "You know you can trust me," he reasoned. "And we tell each other everything."

"I know I can, but can't tell you about this." And she couldn't, at least not without telling him about Gabrielle's crush. "And," she gave a small shrug, "it's not like we tell each other  _everything_. There are certain  _things_  we don't talk about. You know, like how Quinn and I cuddle and how she kisses the top of my head and-"

"Okay, okay!" Noah yelled. "Just stop, just stop!" It was probably mean, but Rachel had a feeling that hearing about cutesy things that she and Quinn did together would stop him from pushing the subject. She did want to talk to him about her plan… maybe if she used a fake name. Rachel smiled at the idea even though she knew that wouldn't be able to fool Noah like that. Even with her astounding acting skills there was still the issue of how Noah knew everyone that Rachel was friends with. She turned to him and watched as he tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. Rachel couldn't understand how she had 'ruined lesbians' for him, but she did feel sorry for him… if only somewhat.

She decided to chat about something else until Quinn was done; school, a bit about video games and football, as well as Rachel's newly revised plans for college. Rachel had yet to convince Noah to apply but she was adamant in doing so. She had previously discussed said plans with Quinn at length was glad to hear that her girlfriend was hoping to be accepted at Yale. Rachel may or may have not hinted at how she'd like to have her best friend close by as well.

Noah was quick to change the subject, or to at least attempt to do so. Rachel wouldn't have let him but luckily for him Quinn showed up at that very moment, thus interrupting their entire conversation. She plopped down next to Rachel and planted a long smooch on her cheek, earning a gagging sound for Noah. Quinn rolled her eyes at him but chose not to comment. Unlike Rachel, Quinn enjoyed 'ruining lesbians' for him.

"Congrats," she told her as she took a hold of Rachel's whistle. "I'm sure you'll whip these boys into shape," she stated confidently before looking over at Noah. "Looks like you're doing a pretty good job with Puck so far. Good thing too; I think he's been putting on a few pounds."

"Ha ha, very funny. I guess you don't agree that Rachel's being a tyrant?"

"What?" Quinn laughed and shook her head. "Of course not. Are you trying to compare her to Sue?" she asked Noah incredulously. Noah replied with a simple gesture of his hands and a shrug as he mouthed out some word. "You can't be serious. Rachel's nothing like Sue." Rachel leaned into Quinn and snuggled close to her before turning to Noah and blowing a raspberry at him. Noah blew one back in return. "But… she was kind of impressed with how Rachel handled the team."

Rachel quickly ceased in her childish behavior and swiftly turned towards her girlfriend, shock and terror plastered across her face. "What?"

"Sue was impressed with how you coached," Quinn repeated somewhat hesitantly. "But it's not like that means anything. You're nothing like Sue." she tried to assure Rachel but words did little in doing so. "She just liked…" Quinn took a quick pause as she pondered her word choice. "She 'liked' how you took charge."

Rachel's pout softened slightly. "I guess that's not too bad, but maybe I should tone it down a bit."

"Yes, please!"

"Maybe…" Quinn shrugged. "We can talk about it later if you want." Rachel's frown returned. "A couple of the Cheerios are coming over to my place," Quinn answered her unasked question. "It's nothing big; just me, Santana,  _Gabrielle_  and a few others. We're just going to go over a few things on our routine and stuff. There's a lot to talk about."

Rachel nodded her understanding. "Okay, have fun and play nice." She could feel Noah's eyes burning holes into the back of her head. She guessed that it'd probably take him a while to piece things together, if he ever even did, but she knew that he must have caught on to something odd about their exchange. She felt Quinn's lips upon her cheek and then she gave her a brief hug before watching her leave. She lifted her hand up the moment she heard a sound leave Noah's lips and told him, "We are not talking about this."

"But-"

"We are not talking about it," Rachel repeated more sternly. "Or maybe you'd like to run a few more laps."

"Practice is over," Noah reminded her. "You couldn't make me run even if you wanted to." Rachel scowled at him. As anyone could guess, she was trying to appear threatening but she looked more cute as opposed to anything else. Noah laughed in her face but immediately stopped so he wouldn't hurt her feelings. "Fine, we won't talk about it. But here's an idea; now that you're couch, how about we go over to my place and play a quick game of Madden? Let's see if you can actually beat me now."

Rachel's lips curved upward into a devious smile. "You're on, challenge accepted." She extended her hand out to make it official. Noah grinned and shook her hand. "I'm going to crush you." She jumped to her feet and ran to the parking lot. Rachel quickly made her way to Noah's car but when she looked back behind her she found no sign of Noah. She looked further back to see that he was making no attempt to race her to the car. In fact, he was actually walking quite slowly. "I guess I was a little too hard on them," she spoke her thoughts aloud.

That didn't mean she was going to go easy on him during the game of Madden of course.


End file.
